Brine:
3 tablespoons salt
8 cups water
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 bay leaves
Dry Mix:
1/2 cup potato starch (or corn starch, but it won't be as crispy)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional ingredient, this makes a spicy chicken, start with 1 teaspoon for a less spicy chicken)
Wet Batter:
1/4 cup "Dry Mix" (pre-mixed with ingredients above)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup ice water (water must be cold)
Brining: In a large bowl, combine all the brine ingredients. If you are using chicken legs, separate the drums from the thighs so that it becomes 8 pieces of chicken. Add the chicken to the brine and let it sit for a minimum of 4 hours in the fridge or room temperature. (If you keep it in the fridge to brine, bring it out to room temperature 1 hour before you are ready to prep it so you are not dealing with super cold chicken, which can drop the oil temperature during deep frying.) Making the Dry Mix; In a large Tupperware or bowl, combine all the ingredients of the "Dry Mix" from the ingredient list. Reserve 1/4 cup of it aside to make the "Wet Mix" and set the rest aside for later. (Optional) If you want a more textured crispy batter, add 2-3 tablespoons of the 'Wet Batter' into the 'dry mix' and work it into the mix with your fingers until you get a slightly clumpier damp dry mix. Making the Wet Batter: Add the reserved 1/4 cup of dry mix into a bowl and add in the white vinegar and ice water and mix well until everything is combined. Set this aside. Battering The Chicken: When you are ready to batter the chicken, remove it from the brine and dry it out VERY WELL with paper towel. One at a time,, put the chicken into the dry mix and coat it with a light dusting. Shake very well. You want a very light coating for the inItial flouring only. Set the chicken in a single layer on a plate or a rack aside to rest for 5 minutes. Use a fork to re-mix the wet batter (it may have settled and separated). Dunk one piece of chicken into the wet batter. Add the wet chicken piece back into the "Dry Mix" and completely cover the chicken in the mix. Use your hand and press the dry mix into the chicken and squeeze the chicken. Remove the chicken from the dry mix and shake out the flour to create the nooks and crannies. Remove the chicken from the dry mix and set it in a single layer on a plate or a rack and let it rest for 10-15 minutes - this will allow the batter to stick to the chicken better. Repeat the above steps 5, 6, 7 and 8 for every chicken piece. Deep Frying the Chicken: Fill a cast iron pan or deep fryer with oil and set the temperature to 350F (177C). Once the oil is hot (you can do a test if it's hot enough by sticking a wooden chopstick or wooden spoon into it to see if it bubbles) add in the chicken slowly. Do not overcrowd the pan, you don't want the oil temperature to drop. You may need to cook this in a few batches. Cook the chicken for 15-20 minutes. Once it has cooked for 15-20 minutes, remove it from the oil and let it rest on a rack, newspaper or parchment paper for a few minutes before digging in.