I would say this is a guilty please, but I have absolutely no guilt here. Light, crisp batter and tender chicken are a beautiful pairing and there's no better way to enjoy it than like this.

Buttermilk shares many similarities with yoghurt and as such it has the same ability to really relax and tenderise the chicken breasts. This same technique is great for marinating other meats, such as for curries. Buttermilk can often be found in the World Foods or Polish food sections of supermarket chilled sections for as little as £1.

This recipe is adapted from several of Gordon Ramsay's videos, with some adjustments from admittedly drooling over many different recipes and internet threads. Ramsay recommends chicken thighs or drumsticks, which are fattier and absorb more flavour, but I'm going to use chicken breasts here as they're much better for burgers or dipping.

Step 1 - Prepare the Chicken

Believe me when I say that soaking the chicken overnight makes a huge difference. You'll find it much more tender and the flour will form a far better coating.

The day before you fire up the pan, slice the breasts lengthways and optionally in half, depending on how large you want your pieces. For a burger, I'd recommend leaving them whole but smaller sizes work better for straight up dipping
Place them in a mixing bowl and pour over enough buttermilk to cover all of the chicken
Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge

Step 2 - Coat the Chicken

Place the flour, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic into another mixing bowl and give it a quick stir
Grab a chicken breast from the bowl and give it a little shake to remove excess buttermilk
Place it in the flour mixture and make sure it's thoroughly coated. A double dip in the buttermilk and flour again wont hurt either!

Step 3 - The Frying

Now we're ready to get down to business.

Grab a medium sized pan, to get the sweet spot between deep and shallow for ease of access and to make efficient use of the oil. Fill the pan with 2-3cm of oil and heat on a medium-high heat for a few minutes. If your oil becomes too hot at any point, reduce the gas or add a dash of cold oil if needed
Carefully place the chicken breast in the oil and repeat the process
#Tip: Don’t overcrowd your pan as your chicken won't fry as well, instead cook in batches or fire up a second pan for twice the action
After around 5-7mins the chicken should be ready to turn. Grab a pair of tongs and carefully turn each piece over
Fry for a further 10 or until cooked through
Once ready, use a strainer or tongs to remove from the oil, shake off any excess and place on a plate covered with kitchen paper

Step 4 - The Eating

There are many ways to serve this, some of my favourites include:

In a toasted brioche bun with crisp lettuce and a spicy BBQ mayo
As a nice easy dipper. Mix together some of your favourite BBQ sauce with a spoon of honey and a splash of bourbon or reach for a classic hot sauce or blue cheese dip
With a side of homemade potato wedges covered with salt, pepper and rosemary

Let's not forget drinks too. For craft beer fans, a nice light session IPA or something with a floral haze will go really well with this or alternatively round off the meal with a smokey bourbon straight up or over ice.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

500g chicken breasts
~600ml buttermilk
200g flour (Plain or any other)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
A 1l bottle of vegetable oil for frying (Sunflower or rapeseed work equally well)