16 chicken wings
8 chicken tenders (or 8 more wings)
salt
All-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
vegetable oil for frying
Seasoning mix:
2t ground allspice
2t onion powder
3t garlic powder
2t white sugar
2t thyme leaves - crushed
2t ground black pepper
2t cayenne pepper
1t chipotle chile powder (or cayenne)
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t ground cloves
Stir seasoning mix ingredients together and set aside 3 tablespoons.
Split the wings at the joints. Save the wing tips for stock.
Toss wings and tenders in a big bowl with a couple of tablespoons of oil, just to coat.
Season wings generously with salt and toss.
Add seasoning mix and toss to coat.
Mix buttermilk, eggs, water, and 2 tablespoons seasoning mix.
Mix remaining tablespoon of seasoning with 1 tablespoon salt and set aside.
One by one, dredge wings and tenders in flour.
Don't knock off the excess flour, just set them aside on a sheet pan.
Dip each piece of floured chicken in buttermilk, then back into flour.
Again, don't knock off any excess flour. Press the flour and any little "bits" into the chicken.
Set them aside on another sheet pan until they're all done.
Let these sit at room temp while you prepare the oil.
Add enough vegetable oil to a large skillet to come 1/2 way up the sides of the chicken pieces.
Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Fry chicken in batches, turning, until brown and crispy and cooked through.
As each chicken piece comes out of the frying pan, place it on a rack over yet another sheet pan and season lightly with the salt mixture.
Note: The chicken tenders will take less time to cook than the wing pieces.
The Johnson Family Cookbook