Ultimate Southern Fried Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to getting crispy chicken? ›

Fry it twice.

Try Fontana's method for “blanching” fried chicken: Heat oil to 250 degrees and cook chicken breasts for about five minutes, or bone-in chicken for about 12 minutes. Let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes, then fry again, two to three minutes for breasts or five minutes for bone-in.

The secret to making the perfect fried chicken is the use of buttermilk, as it helps tenderize each piece while leaving each bite juicy and crispy. After marinating, dredge your chicken pieces in the flour mixture and get to frying!

Brining helps tenderize and flavor the meat. You can use a simple mix of salt and water (three quarts of water to one tablespoon of salt) or buttermilk. An eight-hour soak is ideal. Be sure to drain and rinse the brine when you're ready to fry to prevent overly salty chicken.

Fried Chicken Secret #1: A Salty Marinade = Juicier Meat

Most Southern fried chicken recipes start with a bath in a seasoned marinade of some sort, whether it's buttermilk, milk and eggs, or even pickle juice. Adding plenty of salt to this mixture can help your chicken stay moist.

When paired with all-purpose flour, cornstarch helps prevent gluten development, which makes the flour coating crispier, and absorb moisture (from the frying and the chicken), which also means a crispier coating. If you already have a favorite fried chicken recipe, try replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch.

Directions. Soak chicken in buttermilk with garlic, onions, herbs, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

To marinate chicken: Place chicken in a sealable gallon-size plastic bag. Pour in the brine mixture, seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.

It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

The secret to succulent fried chicken starts with a marinade or brine, which keeps the chicken at its peak juiciness. Fried chicken traditionalists generally choose a buttermilk marinade while others swear by a brine, which is a mixture of sugar, salt and sometimes spices dissolved into water.

Do I rinse chicken after brining? ›

After waiting the appropriate amount of time, remove the meat from the brine and pat it dry with a paper towel. You won't need to rinse it with fresh water unless you accidentally brined it for too long. From here, cook the meat according to your favorite recipe.

Buttermilk Is More Than A Better Coating

This acidic nature also helps lightly tenderize the meat, creating an even juicier, more succulent texture. Even a few minutes of soaking in buttermilk (or resting after breading) can make a big difference.

There is no way to completely prevent the chicken breasts from releasing water. However, you can minimize it by the way you cook. Not crowding the number of pieces in the pan is the most effective, followed by searing the meat when you first put it into the pan, then turning down the heat to complete the cooking.

I like to cool any leftover chicken completely and then store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs condensation and keeps that chicken crisp for midnight snacking.

The chicken is then air-dried for 10 to 12 hours before being flash-fried, then oil-poached. The skin gets its signature crispiness from 10 to 12 minutes of basting with scalding hot oil right before serving.

It may sounds unappealing, but coating chicken wings in seasoned baking powder is what makes the skin super crispy. You won't taste it in the end results, so long as you use aluminium-free. To be clear, make sure you use baking powder, NOT baking soda, because there is a big difference!

The breading on your chicken is probably absorbing oil. There are three possible problems: either the oil isn't hot enough when you start frying, you're putting too much chicken into the pot at one time, or you aren't allowing the oil's temperature to recover between batches.