I've been eating my fill of fried chicken lately, and I'm seeing a lot more in my future. Get ready, people: Gourmet fried chicken is fast becoming the next big foodie favourite.

As with so many food trends, the fried-chicken fad originated in New York. So prolific are the fried-chicken offerings in Manhattan that the website seriouseats.com claims it's "popping up on more high-end menus than (is) pork belly."

The site even rated the best fried chicken in the city's chef-driven restaurants, awarding The Redhead top prize for a $17 fried chicken plate that has, "just the right amount of crunch," is "tender and juicy," "perfectly cooked all the way to the bone," "well-seasoned inside and out," and served with "fine accompaniments, worthy of stomach space."

Second place went to Momofuku Noodle Bar, where red-hot chef David Chang is serving two whole fried chickens, one southern style and one Korean style, with mu shu pancakes, bibb lettuce and four sauces. Don't tell me you're not salivating.

But you don't have to go to New York for your fried-chicken fix. A few Montreal restaurants are giving it a go, as well.

Over at The Sparrow on St. Laurent Boulevard, chef Marc Cohen's fried chicken served with sauteed collard greens often graces the bimonthly changing menu. He first brines the birds (or, more specifically, rock cornish game hens) and then dips them twice in seasoned flour between a buttermilk bath before a final deep-fry, resulting in chicken with moist meat and a deep-mahogany crust. "I wasn't thinking of following a trend. I just know people like to eat it," says the British-born chef.

Fried chicken with collards at The Sparrow

``In England, fried chicken is really the lowest of the low on the fast-food chain. It's served in paper boxes with loads of ketchup, and it's not done particularly well. I often worry where those chickens come from."

At Kitchenette on Rene Levesque Boulevard, chef Nick Hodge has a buttermilk battered chicken po' boy on his lunch menu that's filled with tender chunks of crisp chicken and served with homemade coleslaw and sweet-potato croquettes.

Though the sandwich sells well, Hodge isn't so sure Montrealers are too keen on fried chicken, a dish he says he ate almost too much of as a kid growing up in Texas. "I put it on as a special," he explains. "At lunch, I served it with mashed potatoes and gravy, and at dinner, I served it soul-food-style with savoury waffles. I only sold three of the eight portions I prepared, but the staff went nuts over it."

Fried chicken po' boy sandwich at Kitchenette

The piece de resistance of Montreal's fried chicken options would definitely be the version I tasted at McKiernan. Chef Fred Morin starts with a chicken prepared beer-can style that's stuffed with truffles under the skin and roasted on top of a beer can. He then takes the fully cooked chicken, cuts it up into pieces that are sprinkled with Old Bay seasonings and placed in a buttermilk bath along with mustard powder and garlic salt.

The chicken is then rolled in flour seasoned with salt, pepper, Old Bay and barbecue spices, as well as a tablespoon (15 mL) of baking powder to add extra oomph to the crust, dipped again in buttermilk, and then rolled once more in the flour.

McKiernan's fried chicken

Fried in a mixture of beef tallow and canola oil, Morin's chicken offers the perfect contrast between succulent flesh and shatteringly crisp skin.

He serves it with mashed potatoes, gravy and - an inspired touch - honey. The only downside of this dish, often served as a staff meal, is that it's available only on request.

Restaurant fried chicken is always a treat, but there's no reason you can't enjoy a heaping platter at home.

Problem is, there are so many techniques to choose from.

At the famous Dooky Chase restaurant in New Orleans, the recipe for classic Southern-style fried chicken calls for the chicken to be bathed in egg wash before being shaken in seasoned flour.

Fried chicken at Dooky Chase restaurant in New Orleans

Nigella Lawson's fried chicken recipe begins with a buttermilk bath. in which the chicken is eventually poached before it's flash-fried in a flour coating.

And in Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook, the fried chicken begins with a spice rub, followed by a shake in seasoned flour without any liquid soaking in between.

My favourite recipe thus far comes from food52.com, a brilliant new website that has members submitting recipes in competition for a place in an eventual Food 52 cookbook.

The winning fried-chicken recipe, Classic Southern Buttermilk Bathed Fried Chicken by a certain Chef James, features an initial spice rub, a buttermilk and hot-sauce brine, and a seasoned flour coating. The resulting chicken I lifted out of my fryer was not only light and crisp, but the crust and flesh had real depth of flavour.

Having made a fair share of fried chicken over the past few weeks, there's no denying that buttermilk/and or brine makes for a more tender piece of chicken, generous seasonings are also essential (but watch the salt!), and my best results have been peanut oil for frying, though experienced chefs recommend canola oil, as well.

Fried chicken is simple to make, and there's always room to experiment with different seasonings. But the one rule that must be respected concerns frying temperatures. Ideally, you'll want the oil to hover around 330 F (165 C). Rise above 340 F (170 F) and you risk over-browning the coating, resulting in undercooked meat and a bitter crust. Chicken fried below 300 F (150 C) will be greasy.

Of course, it goes without saying that fried chicken is a highly calorific indulgence (when I served fried chicken to my French husband, he wouldn't touch it). But for some of us, there is nothing like crunching down on a piece of hot fried chicken served for supper, or savouring a piece of cold fried chicken straight from the refrigerator the morning after.

Major yum.

Here are two recipes for flawless and fabulous fried chicken.

Ad Hoc's Buttermilk Fried Chicken