Cut the chickens into eight pieces each. Wash the chicken pieces and dry to just damp with a paper towel. Sprinkle about half of the salt and pepper over the pieces. Allow the pieces to come to cool room temperature (60s) before you start cooking.
In a wide bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, water and the remaining salt and pepper.
Heat the peanut oil in a cast-iron skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees.
Dip the chicken thighs briefly in the egg-and-milk mixture, and shake off the excess. Then shake the flour over the pieces to cover them all over lightly. Slip the thighs into the hot oil.
Repeat this process for the chicken legs, slipping them into open spaces in the pan. Leave plenty of room between the pieces. Hold back on adding more chicken if the pan gets crowded.
After eight minutes, jab each piece of chicken almost all the way through with a heavy, two-pronged kitchen fork. Austin said that this lets in just enough hot oil to let the center finish cooking without the outside becoming overcooked. He also said that this will not make the chicken too oily.
Fry the thighs until crisp--ten to twelve minutes total frying time, turning once to brown uniformly all over.
Remove chicken to a large unlined strainer (or one of those screens designed to keep bacon fat from popping) set over a shallow pan. (Don't use paper towels to drain; they make the chicken soggy.) Put this assembly into the oven at 200 degrees to keep the chicken hot while you finish the rest of it.
After the thighs have come out, add the breasts, which will take a little less time than the thighs. Add the wings last, about six minutes into the cooking of the breasts.
