Crispy Ranch Fried Chicken

The year closes with the grill still hot and the dream still growing and the food still getting better. I cooked 364 dinners this year — every night, without exception, even when the apartment was empty and the audience was one. I cooked through a divorce and a pandemic and a second COVID infection and the loss and recovery of taste and the first catering jobs and the name on the refrigerator and the step stool where my daughter stands and the basketball hoop where my son plays and the balcony where the grill lives and the table where I eat alone and with my children and the kitchen where I am more myself than anywhere else on earth. Five years. Two hundred and sixty weeks. From cereal to Thanksgiving dinner. From a man who could not make spaghetti without a jar to a man who makes gumbo from a dark roux and fried chicken from buttermilk and biscuits from cold butter and banana pudding from custard and smothered pork chops from onion gravy and the love of a mother who said "learn" and meant "live." The food is the whole book. And the next chapter — the chapter where Carter's Kitchen grows from a name on a refrigerator to something you can walk into and sit down at and eat — that chapter is next. I do not know when. I do not know how. But I know the food is ready. Mama said so. The sixty dollars said so. The three hundred dollars said so. The woman who called her mother from the plate said so. And Aiden, five years old, who looks at me across the kitchen and says, "Daddy, when can I work at your restaurant?" said so. The dream is real. The food is ready. The man is ready. The year ends. The next one begins. Carter's Kitchen. Coming someday. Coming.

Of all the dishes I cooked this year — the gumbo, the biscuits, the banana pudding made from scratch — it was the fried chicken that made people stop talking mid-bite. That silence is the highest compliment a cook can receive, and I chased it all year. This crispy ranch fried chicken is what I keep coming back to: buttermilk-soaked, boldly seasoned, golden all the way through, the kind of plate that makes a five-year-old look up and ask when he can work at your restaurant. If Carter’s Kitchen ever has a signature, this is a strong candidate.

Prep Time: 15 min (plus 2 hr marinating) | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 2 hr 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, or breasts)
2 cups buttermilk
1 packet (1 oz) dry ranch seasoning mix, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 4 cups)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Combine buttermilk and half the ranch seasoning packet in a large bowl or zip-top bag. Add chicken pieces, turn to coat, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for best results.
Make the dredge. In a shallow dish, whisk together flour, cornstarch, the remaining ranch seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, cayenne, and salt until evenly combined.
Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a large cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pot to a depth of about 2 inches. Heat over medium-high heat to 350°F. Use a thermometer — the temperature matters for crispiness.
Dredge the chicken. Remove chicken from the buttermilk marinade, letting the excess drip off. Press each piece firmly into the flour mixture, coating all sides thoroughly. For extra crunch, dip back into the buttermilk and dredge a second time.
Fry in batches. Working in batches to avoid crowding, carefully lower chicken into the hot oil. Fry thighs and drumsticks 12–14 minutes, turning once halfway, until deep golden brown and cooked through (internal temp 165°F). Breasts may take 14–16 minutes depending on size.
Drain and rest. Transfer fried chicken to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Let rest 5 minutes before serving — this keeps the crust from steaming off on paper towels.

Nutrition (per serving)

Crispy Ranch Fried Chicken — The Recipe That Proved the Dream Was Real