Got a deep fryer for Christmas I still haven't used mainly because I don't usually eat a lot of fried foods, but from time to time since I got the thing I have imagined what it would be like to be the King of Fried Chicken in the family. It seems virtually no competition for the prize exists since Mom's proven method for cooking anything, God love her, was always to start with only the cheapest ingredients, mix them together in a large bowl made of plastic or some space-age polymer, and the secret ingredient was to always do this as if cooking is a chore, then run the mixture through the deflavorizing machine, and serve. My sister was an avid pupil of my mother. My brothers have even less interest in preparing a culinary masterpiece than the women in the family. Still, if I'm going to make a run for the family title, I want this chicken to be of the historic variety.  I want this chicken to be the best fried chicken I've ever tasted and eaten..

I've read that brining the chicken for 8-12 hours is a good idea, just not sure about the ultimate brine recipe. Any suggestions?  Kosher salt, brown sugar, carrot, onion, garlic, sage and thyme  I'm thinking.  Should I use chicken broth or apple juice as the base liquid for the brine or a combination of both?  Should I add lemon or lime or orange to the brine or should I add it to the buttermilk wash that follows in the next step?  White wine, white vinegar or neither?  Sweet white or dry white if any wine/vinegar at all?

Next step is the buttermilk wash for another 8-12 hours. Think I will go with buttermilk, garlic, onions, oregano, carrot, thyme, tarragon, sage, red and green bell peppers, brown sugar and salt and fresh ground red and black pepper.

What about the next step, the breading? Thinking mostly flour with a little corn flour. Same spice set as the wash here?  More pepper? hot/mild?  How about Sriracha Sauce?  Any room for that here?

What about eggs? Should I use eggs at any step of the process or should I not? If so, why and when? In the wash? After the wash but before the breading?  If not even at all, why not?

Should I use lard and/or oil and/or butter? It seems butter should be involved in the flavor. Not sure about lard v. oil consequences concerning flavor, though.  I have heard it may be a very good idea to add a little apple and hickory smoked bacon, some polish ham end pieces, and/or some authentic Polish kielbasa like Kabonosy to the oil/butter/lard combo for a few minutes while waiting for the oil to heat to 350 degrees.

Any suggestions/family secrets are greatly appreciated.