To make classic crispy juicy fried chicken, buy small chickens that weigh between 1 and 1.3 Kg (2 ½ and 3 pounds). The pieces of small birds will cook through in the relatively short time it takes for the crust to become deeply brown. When you cut up the bird into drumsticks, thighs, breasts and wings, include about 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the adjacent breast top as part of the wing portion. This will make a meatier (more equitable) serving for the ‘wing’ people.