Best Southern Fried Chicken Recipes

REAL SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, whisk 2 cups buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken; turn to coat. Refrigerate, covered, overnight., In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Meanwhile, place remaining buttermilk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk flour, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and remaining salt and pepper. Place half of flour mixture in another shallow bowl (for a second coat of breading). Drain chicken, discarding marinade; pat chicken dry. Dip in flour mixture to coat both sides; shake off excess. Dip in buttermilk, allowing excess to drain off. For the second coat of breading, dip chicken in remaining flour mixture, patting to help coating adhere., Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned and juices run clear. Drain on paper towels.

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and paprika. Roll in flour.
• Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large, heavy skillet. Heat to approximately 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place chicken pieces in hot oil. Cover, and fry until golden, turning once, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

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.

BEST SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, beat eggs and milk. In another bowl, combine flour and seasonings. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then in flour mixture. , In a large skillet; brown chicken in oil on both sides. Cover and cook the chicken over low heat for 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove chicken from the skillet; keep warm. Reserve 1/4 cup drippings in skillet. , For gravy, stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until browned. Combine milk and water; add to skillet. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add browning sauce if desired. Serve with chicken. Garnish with oregano if desired.

TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE TRIED AND TRUE

Steps:

• Combine the Marinade: In a large mixing bowl, combine two cups of buttermilk with 2 teaspoons of hot sauce; add the chicken pieces and make sure they're all coated well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to overnight.
• Add peanut oil to a cast iron skillet and heat over medium low.
• Prepare the dry dredge mixture by combining the flour and seasonings together in a large bowl; set aside.
• Prepare the wet dredge mixture by whisking together the egg with a cup of buttermilk in a large bowl; set aside.
• Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and place on a paper towel lined sheet pan. Use a paper towel to gently dry the chicken pieces slightly.
• Dredge each chicken pieces in the dry dredge mixture, then wet, then dry; shake off excess. Place dredged chicken pieces on a foil lined sheet pan. Repeat until all pieces are done.
• Cooking in batches; begin by adding the chicken legs, thighs and wings to the hot oil making sure not to over crowd the skillet.
• Use tongs to turn every 5 minutes, fry the chicken until crispy and golden brown (12-15 minutes).
• Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a paper towel lined sheet pan with a cooling rack placed on top to drain excess cooking oil.
• Continue with frying the remaining breast pieces, turning as needed (15-18 minutes) until crispy and golden brown.
• Transfer the breasts to the lined sheet pan when done.
• Serve after chicken has cooled 10 minutes.

CRISPY SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• BEAT together egg, water and 1/4 cup oil in large bowl. Add sugar, salt and flour. Mix until smooth.
• HEAT remaining 1 1/2 cups oil to 360 degrees F in deep skillet. Dip chicken pieces, one piece at a time, into batter. Fry 20 to 30 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork (165 degrees F). Turn chicken often for even browning.

BEST SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN BATTER

Steps:

• Add the flour, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika and salt and pepper to a Ziploc bag. Close the bag and shake to combine well.
• Place the chicken in the bag and shake to coat.
• In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and soy sauce.
• Remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag, dip into the egg mixture, and then place back into the bag to coat once again.
• Heat a few inches of cooking oil in a deep sided skillet over medium high heat on the stove.
• Add the chicken to the heated skillet and fry evenly on both sides until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.
• Let the chicken drain on a paper towel lined plate before serving.

CLASSIC SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 200 F and place a rack in a large baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, combine the milk and eggs. Whisk to blend well.
• In a large heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons salt, and pepper. Seal and shake to combine.
• Dip the chicken pieces in the milk and egg mixture and let excess drip off into the bowl. Set already dipped pieces aside on a plate until you have three or four.
• Add the dipped chicken pieces to the bag of seasoned flour.
• Seal the bag and shake well to coat the chicken pieces thoroughly.
• Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
• Heat the oil in a deep, heavy skillet to 350 F. While it's heating up, set aside a large serving plate lined with paper towels.
• Fry the chicken, a few pieces at a time, for about 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Be careful not to put too many chicken pieces in at once-even if they can comfortably fit-since this will dramatically drop the temperature of the oil, affecting the crispness of the final product. Note that chicken breasts will take a little less time than dark meat pieces.
• With a slotted spoon, move the done chicken pieces onto the paper towel-lined platter to drain. Sprinkle immediately with salt.
• Transfer the drained and seasoned chicken to the prepared pan with a rack. Keep warm in the preheated oven while frying subsequent batches. Depending on the size of your pan, this recipe will require about 3 to 4 batches.

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.