Some sexy fried chicken!

So its Easter weekend and I started to think of different family gatherings and what might be served at family picnics, bbq's, etc. I figured why not start off the easter weekend with some southern style fried chicken and add some love at the end. Pictured here was last nights family meal: Sourthern Fried Chicken, with black truffle honey, finished with thyme leaves and maldon salt. In the deep south, its very typical to eat fried chicken with honey, I figured why not add some lovin and add some black truffles to the honey.....trust me this does not suck! I want to add some floral tones to the chicken to enhance the chicken so I figured why not finish it with some fresh thyme leaves (yes I did pick the leaves with tweezers, but hey...that's how I roll!). Why Maldon salt you ask? Well Maldon salt is basically sea salt flakes (from the coast of Essex, Engalnd).It's not a powdery pouring salt that contains chemicals to stop it getting damp and make it pour freely, but an absolutely pure salt that tastes of the sea. If you do a side-by-side tasting you'll find it is less sharp but somehow saltier (so you need to use less).Maldon salt consists of very pretty, small white crystalline flakes that crush very easily between your fingers for cooking with. For the table, use it either in a good-quality salt mill or a small salt cellar. Crushed sea salt gives jacket potatoes ( baked potatoes) a really crispy crust, and it's wonderful coarsely crushed over chips (or anything fried).  Maldon salt can be found in any specialty food store.  For the Fried Chicken and marinated in buttermilk (and other seasoning shown below) to help breakdown the natural fibers of the meat (a tenderizer if you will..)

Fried Chicken (chicken)

1 ea while chicken; cut into 8 pieces (ask your butcher for 8 piece cut chicken, he will know what u mean.)
2 cups of buttermilk
4 tsp of kosher salt
4 tsp of black pepper
4 tsp of paprika
2 tsp of ground thyme
4 tsp of onion powder
4 tsp of garlic powder
4 ea eggs
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 oz thyme leaves (you can use fresh chopped tyme or rosemary)
1 tbsp maldon salt
1 gallon of fryer oil

1. In a bowl mix the chicken, buttermilk, and 2 tsp of the following: salt, pepper, paprika, ground thyme, onion powder and garlic powder. Let the chicken marinate over night or atleast 12 hours.
2. Heat fryer or a pot of oil to 340*F. (I recommend using a lower of temperture, to recieve optimal color and better internal cooking results, in cooking there is nothing wrong with: "low and slow".
3. Once the chicken is marinated add the eggs and mix well.
4. Season the flour with the remaining spices and dry herbs, except the fresh thyme and maldon salt.
5. Piece by piece, dredge the chicken in to the flour, making sure there is an even coating of flour through out the chicken.
6. Drop the chicken in to the fryer and cook for about  15-17 minutes.
7. Once the chicken is cooked, finish seasoning it with the fresh herbs and maldon salt.

* plain honey can be used to substitute the truffle honey.