Pat chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. One of the keys to making moist, delicious fried chicken is to brine it in the buttermilk. Use about 2 cups of the milk and marinate the chicken in it. It's best to do this overnight, but you can put it in the milk in the morning for preparation that evening.

If you like a bit of extra spice to your chicken, you can increase the quantities of herbs and spices indicated in the recipe. Make about 1.5 times the amount I've specified and then use 1/3 of that in the brine.

Note: one of my grandmothers did this brining stage, the other didn't. I found that both made amazing fried chicken that tasted pretty much the same to me. For me, however, I have found that without marinating the chicken in the buttermilk, mine tends to come out a bit dry.

Discard the brine after use. Use fresh buttermilk for the next stage.

Season the chicken pieces with the spices.  If you like an extra bit of spice, you can also add some to the flour itself.

Dip each piece of chicken into the flour, then the remaining milk, then back in the flour again.  This makes the chicken get a nice crispy coating to it.

Some people like to either add a beaten egg to the milk, dip the chicken in egg in place of the milk, or to dip the chicken into the flour, then milk, then egg, then back to the flour.

I have experimented with this and find I prefer it without the egg. I like a crispy coat but not a really thick one. Whenever I use the egg, I find that I end up with a thicker coating so I do without. Again, one grandmother used the egg and the other didn't - both with impeccable results.

If you're planning to use the pressure cooker, here's where that comes in. The goal of pressure cooking is to essentially steam the chicken, locking in the moisture before the frying process.

Add water to your pressure cooker. Place a heat-proof trivet or rack in it and lay the chicken pieces on top of it.

Follow your pressure cooker's instructions to steam or manually pressure cook on the high setting for 15 minutes. Using your machine's specifications for releasing the pressure and safely opening it, remove the chicken from the pressure cooker.

Let the chicken sit for at least 20-30 minutes. While the moisture is being held inside the chicken pieces, you want the outside to be dry. This helps not only fry it safely with a minimum of splattering, but also helps form that crispy coating you want.

Some people at this point will use a deep fryer. Generations of my family have always pan-fried the chicken, so this is what I have always stuck with. I have heard that it makes for more even cooking and more control this way.

Put 1/2 to 3/4 inch of oil in a deep frying pan.  Heat it to about 365 degrees F (185 C). Yes, it's important to use a thermometer to check the temperature.

My grandmothers, after years of making this recipe at least once a week, could judge the temperature by instinct after a while, but I don't have that skill.

When it comes to what kind of pan to use, both of my grandmas used cast iron and they swore by their results so that's what I do too. I think it helps ensure proper temperatures and even cooking results.

Be sure not to put the chicken in to cook until the oil has reached the appropriate temperature or your chicken may taste greasy and may not be as crispy as it should be.

It's important not to overcrowd the chicken in the pan for best cooking results. If needed, use two pans or keep some warm in the oven while you cook the next batch.

Cover and fry until golden, turning once, for about 10-15 minutes per side.  I like to uncover the pan for the last 3-5 minutes to add one final touch of crunch.

Don't try to eliminate the lid entirely in thoughts that it will make it the crispiest chicken ever. You want to hold in that moisture that you put there through pressure cooking.

OR if you didn't do the pressure cooking step, this is where you will be partly steaming the chicken and adding that moisture in.

The lid needs to be on for at least 10 minutes in order to steam the chicken and ensure that it is fully cooked on the inside without burning it on the outside.

Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked. It should reach a temperature of 165 degrees F.

If you'd like, you can drain the chicken on paper towels after cooking to absorb any residual oil from it.