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 video demonstrating how to do that.)

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