Sweet Tea-Brined Fried Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons pepper black freshly ground
• 0.5 cup brown sugar light packed
• 3.5 lb chicken whole
• 1 cup self-rising corn meal mix white
• 4  garlic clove halved
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper red
• 2 cups ice cubes 
• 0.3 cup kosher salt 
• 1  optional: lemon thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon pepper black
• 2 cups self raising flour 
• 1 small onion sweet thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 2  ginger tea bags 
• 8 servings vegetable oil 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• paper towels
• sauce pan
• whisk
• wire rack
• baking pan
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 3-qt. heavy saucepan; add tea bags.
2. Remove from heat; cover and steep 10 minutes.
3. Discard tea bags. Stir in brown sugar and next 5 ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool completely (about 45 minutes); stir in ice. (
4. Mixture should be cold before adding to chicken.)
5. Cut chicken breasts in half crosswise.
6. Place tea mixture and all chicken pieces in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag; seal.
7. Place bag in a shallow baking dish, and chill 24 hours.
8. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade.
9. Drain chicken well.
10. Whisk together flour and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Spoon 1 cup flour mixture into a brown paper bag or large zip-top plastic freezer bag.
11. Place one piece of chicken in bag; seal and shake to coat.
12. Remove chicken, and transfer to a wire rack. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, adding more flour mixture to bag as needed.
13. Let chicken stand 30 minutes to form a crust.
14. Pour oil to depth of 1 1/2 inches into a cast-iron Dutch oven; heat over medium heat to 32
15. Fry chicken, in batches, 15 to 22 minutes or until browned and done, turning occasionally.
16. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels.
17. Note: If using a 12-inch-wide (2 1/4-inch-deep) cast-iron skillet, pour oil to depth of 1 inch.