NOTE: All recipe quantities are an estimate and will change per batch based on how many chicken pieces, how thirsty the chicken is, and how much breading is wasted due to club hand.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the dry ingredients together in a pie plate and taste the flour for seasoning, adjusting quantity of everything as needed for the amount of chicken you’re dealing with. Separately, beat one egg with a small quantity of water, usually between 2 and 3 teaspoons, to form an egg wash.

Prepare the chicken if necessary. It should be thawed and relatively uniform, so if you want to cook big chicken breasts, slice them into a couple of pieces. Dredge each chicken part in the flour, dust most of it off, and then dip into the liquid before going back to the dry. Tap off any excess and place in an appropriately sized glass pan. Repeat until chicken is all ready.

Add enough vegetable oil to the pan to come up about 1/8 inch up the sides of the chicken pieces. Be careful to avoid dry areas where the chicken blocks the distribution of the oil.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, rotating drumsticks one-quarter turn at the 15-minute mark or so (once the bottom crust has set up; it won’t be crispy on the bottom yet) and flipping over flatter parts like breasts and thighs at the 30 minute mark. Best when fresh, so avoid making extra.