Dirty Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine 1-1/2 cups water with the vinegar and soy sauce, plus the bay leaves, the garlic cloves, peppercorns, and sugar. Set it over medium heat until the mixture reaches a gentle simmer. Let it bubble softly for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to low. Salt the chicken generously. Slip the chicken into the barely simmering broth, cover the pot partway, and poach for 15 minutes; about halfway through, turn the pieces so both sides spend time in the liquid. Watch the heat closely here: the liquid should stay at the faintest simmer, not climb past that. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the chicken in the broth for 20 minutes. Move the chicken to a plate lined with paper towels, then blot each piece dry.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients and put the bowl aside.
3. In another medium bowl, stir the flour with the salt and pepper. Place the buttermilk in its own bowl. Dip each chicken piece into the buttermilk, pull it up, and pause so the extra buttermilk falls back into the bowl. Coat the chicken in the flour, making sure it is even all over. Move the coated pieces to a large plate, and leave them there while the oil heats.
4. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or another sturdy heavy skillet, then pour in enough oil to come halfway up the sides; warm it over medium high until it reaches 365°F. Place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels.
5. Fry the chicken in batches. As it cooks, turn the pieces every minute or 2, and nudge the heat up or down so the oil stays at 365°F. The chicken is ready when an instant-read thermometer shows 165°F in the thickest section of each piece, 8 to 10 minutes. Move the fried pieces to the rack. Brush the sauce on generously, and bring the rest of the sauce to the table alongside.