Best Southern Fried Chicken Batter

With its crisp, nubbly crust and insanely tender meat, this batter fried chicken recipe is fried chicken perfection. Those of you who are geeks for cooking technique wizardry, pay attention. The clever folks at America’s Test Kitchen carefully devised this Southern fried chicken recipe such that:

The batter contains equal parts cornstarch and flour to ensure a shatteringly crisp crust;

The batter also calls for baking powder to create a crust that’s ethereally airy without a trace of doughiness or gloppiness;

The batter relies on black pepper, paprika, and cayenne for a “simple but unambiguous flavor” (just be forewarned, the amount of black pepper is intentionally heavy-handed);