For a remarkably simple dish, fried chicken can be controversial. There are debates over brining the meat (yes, you should). People argue over what starch is used to coat the chicken, about the fat used to fry it, about the temperature at which it cooks. But really all you want is what the great Southern chef Bill Neal called “chicken that tastes like chicken, with a crust that snaps and breaks with fragility.” We’ll show you how to get there, and we’ll give you excellent recipes that you can make your own.

You’ll need a heavy, wide, high-sided skillet with a lid. Cast iron is preferred for the even heat it provides and retains. Ideally, the skillet will be 11 or 12 inches across so more than a few pieces of chicken fit at a time. An enameled cast-iron pot also works.

A candy thermometer is helpful to gauge the heat of the oil in the pan. You want it running at 350 degrees. No candy thermometer? You can flick a little flour into your heated oil. If it sizzles furiously you’re in the right neighborhood.

Traditionalists like to put their seasoned flour into a big brown paper bag, so they can add the chicken to it and shake it around to coat the meat. If you don’t have one, a large bowl with high sides will do.

A baking sheet and wire rack will come in handy for draining the finished chicken. Some cooks make do with more brown paper bags, or even newspaper, but that can lead to soggy skin.

Delicious fried chicken starts with the bird. You can cut a whole chicken into parts for frying, but if you want all dark meat, or vice versa, or just to save time, you can buy the parts.

Maybe you’re feeding a bunch of children who prefer drumsticks, or someone who will only eat white meat. Buying parts lets you tailor the meal to their tastes.

For dark meat aficionados, go for a mixture of drumsticks and bone-in thighs. For those who prefer white meat, a pack of bone-in breasts will do just fine. Figure on two or three pieces per person, plus leftovers because cold fried chicken eaten the next day is fantastic.

A whole chicken of 3 or 4 pounds can be cut into 10 parts for frying: two drumsticks, two thighs, two wings and the two breasts each cut in two, with the backbone discarded. This will feed four people nicely. (Here’s a videodemonstrating how to do that.)

Buy the freshest chicken you can at the store, organic if possible.

To brine a chicken means to submerge it in a solution of salt and water, sometimes flavored with other ingredients, in order to add moisture and flavor to the meat. You can certainly fry chicken without brining the parts, but we recommend against that. It’s very little work, and adds tremendously to the finished flavor.

1. BASIC BRINE For a basic chicken brine, simply dissolve 4 tablespoons kosher salt in 4 cups lukewarm water. Add the chicken to the solution, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight. (You might add a few tablespoons of sugar to the mixture, along with some fresh herbs or chopped garlic.)

2. BUTTERMILK BRINE For many fried chicken aficionados, the only acceptable brine is made with buttermilk. To make one, dissolve 2 tablespoons kosher salt in 4 cups fresh buttermilk, along with a healthy grind of black pepper. Add the chicken to it, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight.

3. PICKLE BRINE Put 2 cups pickle juice into a large bowl and add the chicken to it. Cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight, turning a few times along the way. The result is shockingly flavorful, juicy meat.

4. COLA BRINE Combine 2 cups cola in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 8 sprigs fresh thyme, and a tablespoon or more of hot sauce. Add the chicken, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours, turning a few times along the way. The cola adds a caramel hue and distinctive sweetness to the meat, but after more than a few hours it begins to degrade it, too. Proceed with caution!

5. CIDER BRINE Cider brine: For a sweet, almost autumnal fried chicken, dissolve 4 tablespoons kosher salt in 2 cups apple cider. Add the chicken to the solution, cover and place in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight.

A shatteringly crisp crust is a hallmark of great fried chicken. You achieve that by covering the exterior of the meat and skin with starch before cooking.

1. BASIC METHOD The easiest method for dredging chicken is simply to place the parts in a big paper bag filled with flour that has been seasoned with salt, pepper and occasionally paprika or hot pepper; close the bag; shake it a few times, and then carefully remove each piece and shake off the excess flour before frying.

You can of course use a large bowl in place of the bag. Just dredge the chicken pieces through the seasoned flour and proceed as directed.

You’ll want to dredge the chicken right before frying; leaving the chicken to rest in its coating will gum up the flour, reducing its chances of crisping up in the cooking oil.

2. OTHER COATINGS Not all cooks use all-purpose flour to coat their chicken. Alternative starches include gluten-free flours, bread crumbs, the larger Japanese bread crumbs known as panko, cracker crumbs and potato starch. (Other coatings include — really! — crumbled Cheetos and Doritos.)

Whatever starch you use, the precepts remain the same: dredge the chicken in it, then shake off the excess, then fry.

Once your chicken pieces are coated, you’ll gently place them in hot oil and fry them until golden brown and gloriously crunchy. A few tips: Use tongs to turn the chicken a few times while it cooks. And, crucially, do not crowd the pan. You want plenty of oil surrounding each piece of chicken, but not so much that it spatters everywhere. (In warmer months, if you don’t want to mess up your kitchen, cook outside, using a gas grill and a pan set on the grate above the burner.)

1. THE FAT Time was, people fried chicken in shortening. Some fry in lard, others in oil, or in a combination of the two. What you want is an oil that has a high smoke point, which means that it can be heated to a high temperature without burning. Olive oil and butter have low smoke points. Do not use them for fried chicken. Instead, try peanut, canola or vegetable oil.

You can deep fry the chicken in a lot of oil, or you can shallow fry it in a little less, but if you go the less-oil route, the fat should rise to at least halfway up the pieces to ensure even frying.

As the oil heats on the stove, you might slide a single slice of bacon into it to perfume the fat, but this is hardly a requirement. If you do that, remove the bacon before frying the chicken.

2. THE TEMPERATURE The ideal temperature at which to fry chicken is a steady 350 degrees. Monitor that temperature by using a candy thermometer. And, especially if you’re new to the chicken-frying game, use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the chicken. It’s done when it reaches 165 degrees. Make sure that you’ve brought the oil back up to 350 degrees before you add the next batch of chicken.

3. THE RESTING After you remove your chicken from the skillet, you should let it rest before serving. Some people do so by placing the hot chicken on a paper bag, or on paper towel. This method, however, can lead to soggy skin, particularly on the side that’s in contact with the paper. A better technique is to rest the chicken on a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet, sprinkling a little salt on it when it’s hot for extra flavor.

• YIELD4 servings • TIME45 minutes

1. Place chicken pieces in a bowl and toss them with buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt and a healthy grind of black pepper. Cover and marinate for at least an hour and up to a day.

2. Combine flour, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper in a large bowl or, ideally, a paper bag large enough to accommodate the flour and the pieces of chicken.

3. Pour oil into a large, heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet with high sides and a lid, to a depth of a few inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees.

4. Set a rack on a baking sheet or tray. Place the chicken pieces in the paper bag filled with the flour mixture and shake well to coat, or toss them in the bowl with the flour mixture to achieve a similar result.

5. Shake off excess flour and fry the pieces of chicken skin-side down, in batches so as not to crowd the pan, for about 5 to 15 minutes, covered by the lid. Remove the lid, turn over the chicken pieces, and cook for about 5 to 15 minutes more, uncovered, until they are cooked through and a deep golden brown. Color is as or more important than time: Watch your chicken and get it out when it's golden brown.

6. Remove chicken to the rack to drain and rest, sprinkle with salt and serve warm or at room temperature.

Varying the Flavors Once you’ve mastered our basic recipe, explore these fried chicken styles. Adobo fried chicken will take you to the Philippines, while Nashville-style hot chicken will simply set your mouth on fire. (Worth it.)