Best Ever Fried Chicken Recipes

BEST EVER FRIED CHICKEN WINGS

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, cut through the 2 wing joints; discard wing tips. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Toss wings with kosher salt. Place on a wire rack in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight., In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry wings in batches until skin is crisp and meat is tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain on paper towels., For Buffalo wing sauce, bring hot sauce just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat; whisk in butter 1 piece at a time. Stir in molasses and cayenne pepper., For Thai sauce, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger, garlic and chile pepper; cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and lime juice. Bring to a boil; cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and fish sauce., For barbecue sauce, heat prepared barbecue sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in chipotle peppers, honey and vinegar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. , Toss wings with 1 of the sauces. If desired, sprinkle with green onion slices.

THE KITCHEN MAGPIE'S CRISPY OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a medium sized bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
• Grease a baking sheet really well and set aside.
• Beat the eggs and place in a small bowl. Line up your bowls and your baking sheet in this order from right to left; egg, flour, then baking sheet. This will make sense once you start dipping, for a messy cook like me, I have to try and keep things clean once in a blue moon.
• First, dip your chicken into the flour mixture and cover it completely.
• Then go to the egg mixture, and cover it again completely, this time with egg.
• Back to the flour mixture to cover it completely again, trying not to disturb the two other layers you just did.
• Place the chicken on the baking sheet, and repeat with all the pieces of chicken until they are all done. Now it is time to put them into the fridge and let them sit for 30 minutes. DO NOT skip this part, it helps the layers adhere to not only the chicken, but themselves. And make sure you let the chicken sit in the fridge, in the cold.
• After the 30 minutes, melt the margarine and pour over the chicken pieces.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Bake the chicken for 40-45 minutes until the breast meat reaches 165 °F and the thigh meat is 180 °F.
• Remove and serve!

BEST-EVER FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place 1/2 cup flour in a small bowl.
• Beat egg in a shallow bowl with a fork.
• Place 1 cup flour in a bowl; mix in ranch dressing.
• Split chicken breasts to create 4 pieces. Coat each piece with plain flour, dip in egg, and coat with flour-ranch mixture. Place on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan until almost boiling. Add 2 pieces chicken; fry until lightly golden, turning once, about 5 minutes. Return chicken to the wire rack. Repeat with remaining 2 pieces chicken.
• Bake chicken in the preheated oven until juices run clear, about 10 minutes.
• Mix mayonnaise and sriracha sauce together in a small bowl. Spread on rolls. Place 4 pickle slices on each roll. Place 1 piece of chicken on each sandwich.

SOUTHERN LIVING'S BEST FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine 1 tablespoon salt with 3 quarts water in a large bowl or container. Add chicken, cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Drain, rinse with cold water and pat dry.
• Stir together remaining 1 teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Sprinkle half the mixture evenly over chicken.
• In a large sealable plastic bag, combine remaining pepper mixture and flour. Add 2 pieces chicken to bag and shake well to coat. Remove chicken pieces, shaking off extra flour, and set aside. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Take a large (10- or 12-inch) cast-iron skillet or chicken fryer, for which you have a lid, and fit with a candy or deep-frying thermometer. Add oil and bacon drippings and heat to 360 degrees over medium heat; the oil will ripple and possibly give off a few wisps of smoke.
• Using tongs, immediately add chicken pieces, skin side down (work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding pan). The oil will drop to about 325 degrees, where it should stay; adjust heat so that oil is bubbling gently around the pieces. Cover and cook 6 minutes; uncover and cook 9 minutes. Turn chicken pieces; cover and cook 6 minutes. Uncover and cook another 5 to 9 minutes, depending on size of pieces. If necessary for even browning, turn pieces over a few times toward the end.
• Drain on paper towels or paper bags. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.

CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, hot sauce (optional, for added flavor), salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add in chicken pieces. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours.
• When ready to cook, pour the vegetable oil in a skillet until it is about 3/4 inch deep. Heat to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the breading by combining the flour, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, white pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt in a gallon sized resealable plastic bag or shallow dish. Mix it thoroughly.
• Working one at a time, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk mixture. Shake it gently to remove the excess. Place it in the breading mix and coat thoroughly. Tap off the excess.
• Place the breaded chicken into the 350 degree oil. Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time. The chicken will drop the temperature of the oil so keep it as close to 350 degrees as possible. Fry each piece for 14 minutes, turning each piece about half way through, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
• Remove from the oil and place on paper towels. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

BETTER THAN BEST FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a shallow dish or bowl combine the soup, egg and seasoning salt (be careful, as soup is already salted); mix together. Dip chicken in mixture and turn to coat completely. Set aside.
• In a resealable plastic bag mix together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. One at a time, place chicken pieces in bag, seal and shake to coat. Add more flour and/or cornstarch as necessary, but add them in equal parts (there should be an equal amount of each in the mixture).
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Be sure to use enough oil to cover chicken pieces.
• Place coated chicken on a platter and allow to sit until it becomes doughy (this is critical, to ensure crispiness when fried). Once chicken is doughy, test oil by dropping a piece of the "dough" into it; the oil is ready when it starts to fry immediately.
• Fry chicken pieces in oil for about 7 to 10 minutes each, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Drain on paper towels and serve.

THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into 10 pieces. Cut off the wings. Remove the legs and separate the thighs. Remove and discard the backbone. Cut the breast into 2 pieces and then cut each breast in half.
• Mix 4 teaspoons salt, the brown sugar and baking powder in a small bowl until completely combined and no lumps of sugar remain. Sprinkle the salt mixture all over the chicken pieces. Place the seasoned chicken on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Wrap the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate, at least 3 hours and up to 24. (Overnight works best.)
• Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and 1/4 cup salt in a large bowl until completely combined. Whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce and eggs in another large bowl. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, turning to coat and packing it into any crevices. Shake to remove any excess and return to the rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Pour 6 tablespoons of the buttermilk mixture into the seasoned flour and work it in with your fingers; it should feel like sand with some clumps. (These clumps will give the chicken a crispy, shaggy crust.) Dip the dredged chicken into the remaining buttermilk mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. Then pack the moistened flour firmly onto the chicken. Very gently shake off any excess and return to the rack. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
• Pour enough oil into a large heavy pot to come halfway up the sides. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the pot. Heat the oil over high heat until the thermometer registers 300 degrees F. Working in 3 batches, fry the chicken, turning often and adjusting the heat to maintain the temperature, until deep golden brown, about 8 minutes for the wings, 10 minutes for the legs and 12 minutes for the thighs and halved breasts (an uncut breast will take 15 to 18 minutes). Transfer to a clean wire rack set over paper towels to drain.

CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Take your cut up chicken pieces and skin them if you prefer. Put the flour in a large plastic bag (let the amount of chicken you are cooking dictate the amount of flour you use). Season the flour with paprika, salt and pepper to taste (paprika helps to brown the chicken).
• Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk then, a few at a time, put them in the bag with the flour, seal the bag and shake to coat well. Place the coated chicken on a cookie sheet or tray, and cover with a clean dish towel or waxed paper. LET SIT UNTIL THE FLOUR IS OF A PASTE-LIKE CONSISTENCY. THIS IS CRUCIAL!
• Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about 1/3 to 1/2 full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot. Put in as many chicken pieces as the skillet can hold. Brown the chicken in HOT oil on both sides. When browned, reduce heat and cover skillet; let cook for 30 minutes (the chicken will be cooked through but not crispy). Remove cover, raise heat again and continue to fry until crispy.
• Drain the fried chicken on paper towels. Depending on how much chicken you have, you may have to fry in a few shifts. Keep the finished chicken in a slightly warm oven while preparing the rest.

THE BEST EVER CHICKEN NUGGETS

Steps:

• Heat 1 inch oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a large skillet or saucepan.
• Stir together the flour, garlic salt, and pepper in a bowl. Dip the chicken pieces individually into the beaten eggs before pressing into the flour mixture to coat; shake off the excess flour. Place the coated chicken pieces onto a plate until all the chicken has been coated.
• Cook the chicken in batches in the hot oil until golden brown and no longer pink in the center.

FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut the whole chickens into 4 breasts, 4 thighs, 4 legs and 4 wings and set aside.
• Preheat your oil, in either a heavy pan on the stove or a deep-fryer, to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
• Pour the buttermilk into another bowl large enough for the chicken to be immersed in the buttermilk.
• Prepare your dredging station. Place your chicken in a bowl. Next to that, your bowl of buttermilk, and next to that, your dry mixture.
• Take your breasts, lightly dust them with your flour mixture, then dip them in the buttermilk until they are coated, and then place them in the flour mixture.
• Take the breasts that are in the flour mixture and aggressively push the flour mixture into the wet chicken. Make sure that the chicken in very thoroughly coated, or you will not achieve the crust and crunch you are looking for. Gently place the breasts in your hot oil.
• Next, repeat the dredging steps with your other pieces of chicken in this order: thigh, leg then wing.
• When you place the last wing into the fryer, you should have 16 pieces of chicken in the oil. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, take a probe thermometer and check the temperature of a breast. If it reads 180 degrees F, all of your chicken is done. (Keep in mind that it will continue to cook after it has been removed from the fryer.)
• Remove the chicken from the oil and let it drain for 5 minutes. Let cool for an additional 10 minutes before serving.

BEST-EVER FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk egg, milk and lemon juice until blended. Dip chicken in flour mixture to coat all sides; shake off excess. Dip in egg mixture, then again in flour mixture., In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, 6-10 minutes on each side or until skin is golden brown and juices run clear. Drain on paper towels.

BEST EVER SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, lightly beat the eggs with 1/3 cup water. In a separate shallow bowl, combine the flour and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Lightly season the chicken all over with salt and black pepper. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture, letting any excess drip off, and then coat well in the flour mixture.
• In a large skillet, heat the shortening over medium-high heat until it melts and reaches 350°F on a deep fry thermometer; you'll want a depth of 2 inches. Add the chicken and cook until browned and crisp, 13 to 14 minutes for the dark meat and 8 to 10 minutes for the white meat. And just like that, you've got yourself the best ever Southern fried chicken.