Can’t-F***-It-Up Fried Chicken

• 1 Chicken, whole, or pieces, about 1.8 kg
• 35 g Salt, divided
• 2 l Frying oil, we like canola

- Black pepper, freshly ground, as needed

• 750 g Pastry flour, you can substitute all-purpose
• 25 g Paprika, optional
• 20 g Onion powder, optional
• 5 g Garlic powder, optional
• 500 g Buttermilk

1. Tip: Try setting Joule with Facebook Messenger.
2. “Set Joule to 155 °F”
3. Holy cow, that is pretty cool!
4. Divide chicken into pieces. You’ll want to end up with skin-on thighs, drumsticks, and two whole, boneless breasts.
5. Of course, you can always just buy a bunch of chicken pieces—up to you.
6. Season the pieces all over with salt. A good starting point is about 1 percent salt to the weight of the pieces.
7. Place the pieces into sous vide bags, dark meat (thighs and legs) with dark meat, and breasts with breasts. Make sure pieces don’t overlap with one another.
8. Transfer breasts to the fridge to chill. We’re gonna cook the dark meat longer than the white meat—this ensures the former has enough time to do its thing and the latter retains its juicy goodness.
9. Drop dark meat in water. Cook for at least 2 hours. Add breasts and cook all pieces for an additional hour.
10. Heat at least 3 inches / 8 cm of frying oil in a dutch oven or stockpot over high heat until the oil reaches about 400 °F / 204 °C. (Don’t worry about being super precise here. A few degrees either way won’t make a big difference.)
11. TIP: If you are working ahead or plan to fry in batches, set yourself up so that your chicken pieces will stay warm until service. First, line a sheet pan with a wire rack and place it on the middle shelf of your oven. Then set the oven to “warm” or to the lowest possible temperature setting.
12. Remove cooked chicken pieces from the water and pat dry. Cut breasts in half, lengthwise, so there will be more surface area for crispy, crusty goodness. Place chicken pieces on a metal rack.
13. Set up your breading station: Mix the the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Add buttermilk to a second bowl.
14. Here you have a choice: Do you prefer your chicken more crispy or more crunchy? If you’re in what we call “the camp that loves to feel the crunchiness in the back of your head,” dredge pieces in flour, then buttermilk, then flour again. For crispier chicken, just dunk the pieces in the buttermilk, then move them to the bowl with the dry ingredients, then fry. Not sure what you prefer? Try both and see which texture you prefer.
15. Return each breaded piece to the rack and repeat until you’ve coated them all.
16. The chicken on the left was dredged through flour twice for a thick, crunchy coating. The one on the right got just the one flouring and thus has a thinner, crispier crust.
17. Working in batches, fry the chicken pieces in the oil until they’ve got a gorgeous, golden crust, about 2–3 minutes. (Remember, the inside is already cooked just the way you want it, so as soon as the crust looks good, you can pull pieces from the fryer. Pretty cool, right?)
18. Transfer the finished pieces to the wire rack in the oven to keep warm.
19. Ermahgerd, hot, crispy chicken. What are you waiting for?
20. Sous vide fried chicken brined in pickle juice, then served on a Hawaiian Sweet Roll with sriracha aioli and pickles? Yes, please.
21. Looking for a top score at tonight’s feast? These side dishes should help seal the deal.

TIP: If you are working ahead or plan to fry in batches, set yourself up so that your chicken pieces will stay warm until service. First, line a sheet pan with a wire rack and place it on the middle shelf of your oven. Then set the oven to “warm” or to the lowest possible temperature setting.