The Best Fried Chicken Recipe Ever?

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 2 quarts cold water
• 1 three-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 1 pound lard
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup country ham pieces, or 1 thick slice country ham cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. For the brine, mix the kosher salt into the cold water until the salt has fully dissolved. Put the chicken pieces in a nonreactive bowl or pot, then pour in enough brine to submerge them completely. Transfer to the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
2. Drain the chicken, then wash out the bowl used for brining. Put the chicken back in the bowl and cover it with the buttermilk. Cover the bowl and chill for 8 to 12 hours. Set the chicken on a wire rack to drain, and discard the buttermilk.
3. While the chicken drains, make the frying fat. Add the lard, butter and country ham to a heavy skillet or frying pan. Warm it over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, spooning off foam as needed, until the butter stops foaming and the ham has browned. Lift the ham out of the fat carefully with a slotted spoon.
4. Right before you fry, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the fat to 335 degrees. In a shallow bowl or on wax paper, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Coat the drained chicken pieces thoroughly in the flour mixture, then pat them well so any extra flour falls away.
5. With tongs, lower some chicken into the hot fat with the skin side facing down. Do not crowd the skillet, since too much chicken will drop the temperature of the fat; cook in batches if you need to. Adjust the heat so the fat bubbles gently, and fry the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes per side, until it is golden brown and cooked through. Drain it well on a wire rack or on crumpled paper towels, then serve.
6. Fried chicken tastes wonderful hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.