DR Arnold Brockman:
The smaller the chicken, the sweeter tasting it will be after frying.
If you can find a chicken around 2 to 2 1/4 lbs., you're doing great. Otherwise, buy the smallest you can find (or pieces).
My mom removes the skin.
She soaks the chicken in buttermilk, generally "overnight."
When she's ready to start frying, she heats her pan of oil (she alternately uses an electric skillet or a large frying pan, depending on how much room she may need on the counter). She heats the oil to between medium and hot. She removes the chicken from the buttermilk and lets it drain on paper towels (not drying it off, just letting it drain).
She gets a paper bag or a plastic bag and puts a couple of cups in. She then takes a few pieces of the chicken, drops them in the bag, and then gives them a good shaking so they're well-coated.
She takes out each piece, one at a time, and places it carefully in the oil. She repeats the shaking/placing process until the pan is full.
She browns each piece on one side and then turns each over. She turns the heat down to a little below medium and covers the pan with a metal lid.
She lets it cook about 7-10 minutes (check on it after a few minutes and make sure it's not cooking too fast - i.e. at too high a heat). She removes the lid and turns the chicken over. She covers it and lets it cook another 5 minutes. You want each piece to be "light golden" rather than dark golden or having black flecks of Bisquick on it.
The "Test" for doneness is to pierce each piece and see if the juice runs "clear" or "cloudy". "Clear" means it's done.
She drains the fried chicken pieces on a couple of paper bags.
You can, of course, add seasoning (if you like) to the Bisquick before coating the chicken. OR, you can salt/pepper the chicken after you've soaked it.
