Extra Crunchy Fried Chicken Recipe

I have a little bit of confession here. This picture is a product of my own mix of recipes. I did not follow the exact recipe as below. I steamed my chicken drumsticks first to pre-cook and followed the batter recipe. The batter was spot on, and I used deep fryer. I never had a fried chicken that looked like this before.

Extra Crunchy Fried Chicken Full recipe as told by the book called Cooks Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons buttermilk

1 tbsp salt

1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs) cut into 8 pcs
   (discarded wings and back reserved for stock)

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

4-5 cups frying oil

1. Whisk together 1 cup of buttermilk and salt in large bowl until salt is dissolved. Add chicken pieces to bowl and stir to coat; cover bowl overnight.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, thyme, pepper and garlic powder together in large bowl. Add remaining 6 tbsp of buttermilk; with your fingers, rub flour and buttermilk together until buttermilk is evenly incorporated into flour mixture and resembles coarse wet sand.

3. Working in batches of 2, drop chicken pieces into flour mixture and turn to thoroughly coat , gently pressing flour mixture onto chicken. Shake excess flour from each piece of chicken and transfer to a wire rack set over rimmed baking sheet.

4. Heat Oil (it should measure 4/4 inch deep) in a Dutch oven  over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Place chicken pieces skin down in oil, cover and fry until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove lid after 4 minutes  and lift chicken for even browning; rearrange if some pieces are browning faster than the others. (At this point, oil should be about 300 degrees) Adjust burner if necessary to regulate the temperature of the oil). Turn chicken pieces over and continue to fry uncovered until chicken pieces are deep brown on second side, 6 to 8 minutes longer. (At this point, keep the chicken from browning too quickly, adjust burner to maintain oil temp about 315 degrees.) Using tongs, transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate;let stand doe 15 minutes to drain.