People have been debating the finer points of fried chicken for more than a century.

How small does the bird have to be? Do you soak it in a brine or buttermilk? How do you season and bread it? What kind of oil or shortening do you use? If you pan-fry it, do you leave the cover on or off? What about gravy and side dishes?

Louie Favorite/Staff (ENLARGE)

Chef Scott Peacock uses tongs on his Watershed fried chicken. Not overcrowding the pan is key; fry in batches if necessary.

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Every step evokes opinions and prejudices.

Here are four recipes that represent different approaches, three of them from Atlanta restaurants prized for their fried chicken. Two are skillet-fried, two deep-fried — but they're all classics.

Watershed Pan-Fried Chicken
4 servings

Hands on: 1-1 1/2 hours
Total time: 24 hours or more

This recipe, from Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis' "The Gift of Southern Cooking," is the one the restaurant uses for its renowned Tuesday fried chicken nights. It blends the authors' best chicken-frying tips from Virginia and Alabama. The chicken gets two long soaks, Alabama-style, first in brine and then in buttermilk. The saltwater brine helps the flesh retain moisture and season it all the way through; the buttermilk adds a tangy flavor and helps tenderize it. The Virginia-style frying fat combines lard and sweet butter, flavored with a slice of country ham, making the chicken extra-crispy and rich-tasting. The cornstarch in the dredge adds to the crispness as well. Other tips from the book: "Be sure to pat off all excess dredge; fry evenly at the proper temperature; and drain the chicken well on crumpled-up — not flat — paper towels or a wire rack." If making the Tomato Gravy (see recipe below), be sure to keep the skillet drippings.

1/2 cup kosher salt (do not use table salt for brining)
2 quarts cold water
1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 quart buttermilk
1 pound lard
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup country ham pieces, or 1 thick slice country ham cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make the brine: Stir kosher salt into cold water until dissolved. Place chicken parts in a nonreactive bowl or pot; add enough brine to cover completely. Refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.

Drain the brined chicken and rinse out the bowl it was brined in. Return chicken to the bowl, and pour the buttermilk over. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. Drain the chicken on a wire rack, discarding the buttermilk.

Meanwhile, prepare the fat for frying by putting the lard, butter and country ham into a heavy skillet or frying pan. Cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, skimming as needed, until the butter ceases to throw off foam and the country ham is browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ham carefully from the fat.

Just before frying, increase the temperature to medium-high and heat the fat to 335 degrees. Prepare the dredge by blending together the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or on wax paper. Dredge the drained chicken pieces thoroughly in the flour mixture, then pat well to remove all excess flour.

Using tongs, slip some of the chicken pieces, skin side down, into the heated fat. (Do not overcrowd the pan or the cooking fat will cool. Fry in batches, if necessary.) Regulate the fat so it just bubbles, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Drain thoroughly on a wire rack or on crumpled paper towels, and serve.

Fried chicken is delicious eaten hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.

Per serving: 494 calories (percent of calories from fat, 59), 38 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 32 grams fat (12 grams saturated), 138 milligrams cholesterol, 466 milligrams sodium.

Son's Place Fried Chicken
6 servings

Hands on: 25 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes (includes 30 minutes brining)

With only flour covering the chicken, it's lighter than others and has the "kiss" of the iron skillet, the dark ultra-crispy spot where the chicken sat on the bottom of the pan. Without such a heavy batter, cold leftovers are divine.

Lenn Storey, the owner of Son's Place, cooks his chicken in a cast-iron skillet large enough to fit 15 to 18 pieces. There are two reasons Storey's fried chicken stays so moist: He ensures that each piece of cut chicken has skin covering the meat, and the chicken is soaked in a brine before ever touching the flour.

8 cups water
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1 (2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 6 pieces (leaving drumstick and thigh together)
Soybean oil
2 cups White Lily self-rising flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine water, 1/3 cup salt and 3 tablespoons pepper. Stir until salt dissolves. Place chicken in salt water, submerging all pieces. Allow to soak for 30 minutes.

In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, pour enough soybean oil to come halfway up the sides. Heat oil to 360 to 380 degrees. Drain chicken on a wire cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. Do not pat dry.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Coat chicken in flour.

Carefully add chicken to hot oil. Turn dark meat after about 4 minutes and turn breast after about 7 minutes. White meat takes about 12 minutes to cook and dark meat cooks in a total of about 8 minutes.

Drain chicken on clean cooling rack placed over a clean rimmed baking sheet.

Per serving: 316 calories (percent of calories from fat, 52), 21 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 18 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 57 milligrams cholesterol, 972 milligrams sodium.

Mary Mac's Tea Room Fried Chicken
6 servings

Hands on: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 35 minutes (includes 1 hour chilling)

Before hitting the deep fryer, each piece of chicken is coated in a double batter. The chicken emerges from the hot oil with a beautiful coating that looks almost curly. The crispiness is deafening.

1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
4 teaspoons salt, divided
2 teaspoon white pepper, divided
Peanut oil
1 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Sprinkle chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a deep fryer or large stockpot, pour enough peanut oil to come halfway up sides. Heat oil to 325 degrees over medium-high heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine water, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon white pepper.

Dip chicken pieces into wet batter first then coat with flour mixture. Carefully add chicken to hot oil. Chicken should be fully submerged in oil. Fry chicken for about 18 to 20 minutes.

Drain chicken on a wire cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

— Adapted from "Mary Mac's Tea Room" by Rebecca Lang with recipes by John Ferrell and Margaret Lupo (Looking Glass Books, $24.95)

Per serving: 379 calories (percent of calories from fat, 60), 25 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 25 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 69 milligrams cholesterol, 975 milligrams sodium.

Austin Leslie's Creole Fried Chicken With New Orleans Confetti
6 servings

Hands on: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes (includes 1 hour chilling)

The Cajun seasoning makes this chicken darker than most fried chicken. The evaporated milk makes a crust that is surprisingly crispy yet rich at the same time. Don't skip the pickle - it's a brilliant combo with the salty chicken. Combined with the pickle, the parsley and garlic really dress up the bird enough for weekend company.

1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons pepper
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, such as Tony Chachere's
1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 egg, beaten
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup water
Peanut oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
8 lengthwise slices dill pickle
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

Sprinkle salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning over chicken and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or as long as 24 hours.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine egg, evaporated milk and water.

In a deep fryer or large stockpot, pour oil to a depth of at least 3 inches and heat to 375 degrees over medium-high heat.

Dip chicken pieces in egg wash, then dredge in flour. Shake off excess flour and carefully slip chicken into hot oil, starting with the dark meat.

Cook, maintaining a temperature of 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until an internal thermometer registers 170 degrees for dark meat and 160 degrees for white meat.

Drain chicken on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, and garnish each piece with a pickle slice and confetti of garlic and parsley.

— Adapted from "Fried Chicken" by John T. Edge (G.P. Putnam's Sons, $18.95)

Per serving: 444 calories (percent of calories from fat, 43), 29 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 21 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 73 milligrams cholesterol, 1,620 milligrams sodium.

Tomato Gravy
2 cups (4-6 servings)

Hands on: 25 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

There are many who think a gravy or sauce of any kind would be gilding the lily — and at Watershed the bird comes naked. However, in his cookbook Scott Peacock provides this offering for gravy lovers.

2 tablespoons bacon fat or pan drippings from fried chicken
1 cup finely diced onion
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 pound tomatoes, fresh or canned, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/3-inch pieces (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat the bacon fat or pan drippings in a heavy nonreactive skillet and add the diced onion. Saute over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, pepper and thyme, and cook for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring well, for another 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook 5 minutes longer.

Slowly stir in the milk and heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Taste carefully for seasoning, adding more salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Serve hot.

— Adapted from "The Gift of Southern Cooking"

by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003)

Per serving (based on 4): 225 calories (percent of calories from fat, 72), 3 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 19 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 50 milligrams cholesterol, 873 milligrams sodium.