Marinade / Brine:

• 3-4 cups of water - enough to ensure that chicken is covered in a large bowl
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Seasoned Flour:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Seasoned Flour:

• 12 individual boneless/skinless chicken breasts, excess fat removed & rinsed
• ~3 cups vegetable oil, enough to ensure that skillet has about 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom for frying

1. Clean chicken breasts of any excess skin or fat.
2. Place marinade/brine ingredients in a large bowl & mix well. Add the chicken, turning a couple of times to make sure that chicken is well covered with the solution. Place the bowl of chicken in the refrigerator & marinate for at least 2 hours, turning every now & then to ensure even marinating.
3. In a large but relatively shallow bowl or dish, place the seasoned flour ingredients & mix well with a dry whisk. Set aside in preparation of dredging the chicken.
4. Preheat the oven to 200° F.
5. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over med-high heat until it reaches a frying temperature of about 350° F (use a frying or candy thermometer).
6. Remove chicken and place in colander so that brine solution can drain. Taking one piece at a time, dredge/coat the chicken on all sides with the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess flour and place chicken in the oil.*
7. Fry 3-4 chicken breasts at a time, depending on the skillet size & the chicken breast size...the chicken needs to have enough room so that the pieces won't stick together & turning them is easily done.
8. Once the chicken is frying, flip the chicken 4-6 times to ensure that the chicken juices remain intact, as well as to prevent the chicken from burning. If the temperature is maintained at around 350° F, you'll know that the chicken pieces are done when the breading achieves a richly golden brown (not dark) color.**
9. As each chicken breast is done, place on paper towels to drain; wipe off excess oil. Place on a cookie sheet and put in the oven to keep the chicken warm while you continue frying the remaining chicken. This not only keeps the chicken warm in the interim, it ensures that the breading remains crisp.

*Tip: Halfway through the chicken dredging process, sift the remaining flour into another large, flat bowl. This will prevent clumps from developing and burning in the frying oil.

** It's probably a good idea to employ both the stove vent as well as to have windows open. The chicken may smoke some, and there's nothing like running to turn off fire alarms mid-recipe! That being said, if you're a fireman, this should be routine to you....