Southern Fried Chicken
Southern Fried Chicken recipe– One bite of this chicken’s crunchy, spicy outer layer followed by the tender, juicy meat inside, and you’ll understand why this is a true-blue Southern classic. Infused with spices for intense flavor and soaked in buttermilk tender juiciness, this is the perfect addition to your collection of chicken recipes!
Honestly, this is one of those recipes that is just plain irresistible. I never have leftovers, and everyone always goes back for seconds. Give this fried chicken a try, and you’ll understand what all the fuss is about. 😋
Besides being pure temptation, this Southern-fried chick recipe is super affordable. Marinate simple chicken cuts in buttermilk, then coat them with seasoned flour, and voila! You’ve got a dish that tastes like a million bucks (but only costs a few dollars 🤑).
The Secret to Perfect Southern Fried Chicken
I think there are a few secrets, personally. Here’s my take on a perfectly Southern fried chicken recipe:
- Don’t skip the buttermilk,
- Be generous with the seasonings and, most importantly,
- Use good frying techniques
Don’t worry because I’ll cover all those points in more detail in this recipe so you can make fried chicken that will rival your grandma’s.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken – You can use any cut of chicken you like, but make it bone-in. I prefer buying one whole chicken and cutting it into 10 pieces for this recipe. It doesn’t take long to cut up the chicken, and it’s cheaper too! 🙌
- Coating – Flour is the base of the crunchy outer coating for our fried chicken. Regular ol’ all-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe. Cornstarch and baking powder increase the crispiness. Yum!
- Seasonings – To get a flavorful outer crust, you’ll need paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, white pepper, and some dried herbs. Go all out with the spices because it really makes a difference.
- Buttermilk is one of the secrets to getting that lusciously juicy chicken meat inside that crispy shell. Store-bought or homemade buttermilk works, but don’t leave out this vital ingredient.
How to Make Southern Fried Chicken
Prepare the Chicken
- Season – Start by placing the chicken in a large bowl. Then, season it with salt, followed by crushed garlic, hot sauce, and Creole seasoning. (Photos 1-2)
- Marinate – Pour the buttermilk over the seasoned chicken and then transfer the chicken in its seasoned marinade to a gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag. Refrigerate it for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. (Photos 3-5)
- Make the Coating – Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, herbs, and white pepper in a large bowl. (Photo 6)
- Dredge – Remove the marinated chicken from the buttermilk. Then, dredge each piece in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour. You can use a ziplock bag for this process. (Photo 7)
- Double-dip the chicken in the remaining buttermilk, adding fresh buttermilk as needed, and dredge it again in the spiced flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes while heating the oil. That helps the coating to stay on better. (Photo 8-10)
Fry the Chicken
- Heat Oil in a deep fryer or a cast iron skillet to 375℉/190℃. Remember that the temperature will drop once you add chicken.
- Add Chicken – Use tongs to place the chicken carefully and slowly in the hot oil. Work in batches, and don’t overcrowd your skillet.
- Fry the chicken until it’s golden brown, turning once every 10-20 minutes – depending on the size of the pieces. The chicken is done when it’s no longer pink inside and the juices run clear when pierced. You can do a test by stabbing it with a fork.
- Drain the chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate and then transfer them to a wire rack.
- Repeat with remaining chicken pieces; let them cool for at least 10 minutes before serving your mouthwatering Southern fried chicken.
Recipe Variations
- Swap out your all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour for a gluten-free version of this recipe. I have yet to try it, so you may want to experiment with different flours until you get that classic, flavorsome crunch.
- Use chicken breast tenderloins instead of a whole chicken to make fried chicken tenders instead of regular bone-in chicken. The kids love these. 👧
- Air Fried Chicken. Feel free to avoid deep frying your chicken. Spray the coated chicken with canola oil, crank up your air fryer to 400℉ (205℃), and fry away.
Tips and Tricks
- When frying, ensure your oil is at the right preheated temperature. If it’s too hot, the outside of your chicken will burn before the inside cooks. And if it’s too cold, the chicken skin will get soggy and greasy.
- Don’t use extra virgin olive oil to fry chicken because it has a low smoke temperature and will result in bitter-tasting chicken. Neutral-tasting oils with a high smoke point, like canola, vegetable, or, preferably, peanut oil, are a much better choice.
- Don’t let anything fried sit on a paper towel too long, as it’ll start to steam and make it soggy. Instead, drain your chicken using a wire rack over a baking sheet. That way, they’ll cool crisp and won’t taste greasy. 👌
Make-Ahead Instructions
As with most fried foods, this recipe is best served fresh from the frying pan. I don’t personally recommend making it ahead of time. If you do, though, follow my reheating instructions below to get the crispiness back when you serve it.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve Southern fried chicken as soon as it’s had a chance to cool. Be sure to pair it with plenty of Southern sides.
Store leftover fried chicken in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat your fried chicken, take it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature while preheating your oven to 400℉/205℃. Then place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet and bake it for 15-20 minutes until it’s heated through. That’s the best way to get your crunch back.
What Goes With Southern Fried Chicken
Um, just all of my favorite sides! 😆 For a classic Southern dinner, serve this chicken with collard greens, Southern mac and cheese, and homemade butter biscuits.
Make sure you have some Southern drinks and desserts on hand, too. Sweet iced tea is a must. Finish off your meal with a healthy portion of apple cobbler or sweet potato pie, and don’t forget to scoop a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. 🤤
Wine pairing: Did you know that champagne is perfect with fried chicken? Go figure!
More Classic Southern Recipes to Try
Conclusion
So get to fryin’! And don’t be intimidated because you are now equipped with everything you need to make the perfect Southern fried chicken. Already a fried chicken champ? I’d love to see your best tips in the comment section below!
Watch How to Make It
\[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”ZoqhisJ9″ upload-date=”Tue Aug 07 2018 11:39:31 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Southern Fried Chicken” description=”Southern Fried Chicken – classic Southern chicken recipe that is crunchy and crusty on the outside and juicy and flavorful on the inside; infused with spices and seasonings and soaked in buttermilk to amp its flavor. A great addition to your chicken recipe collection!”]
This blog post was originally published in September 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Southern Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces
- 1½-2 teaspoons salt, adjust to preference
- ½ -1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2-3 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 4 cups buttermilk (for both marinating and coating)
Chicken Coating
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon onion powder
- 1-1½ tablespoon dried herbs (thyme, oregano, parsley, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
Instructions
Prepping the Chicken and Coating
- Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl. Then season it with salt, crushed garlic, hot sauce, and Creole seasoning.
- Pour some of the buttermilk over the marinated chicken, transfer the chicken to a gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, herbs, cayenne pepper, white pepper, and salt in a large bowl.
- Remove the marinated chicken from the buttermilk. Then dredge it in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour. You could use a Ziploc bag for this process, too.
- Double dip the chicken in the remaining buttermilk (add fresh buttermilk as needed), followed by the flour mixture – shake off any excess flour. Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes while preparing the oil. That will help the coating to stay on better.
Frying the Chicken
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or cast iron skillet to 375℉/190℃. The temperature will drop once you add chicken.
- Slowly and carefully place the chicken in the hot oil using a tong. Work in batches, and don't overcrowd the skillet.
- Fry the chicken until golden brown, turning once every 10-15 minutes – depending on the size of the pieces. Chicken is done when it is no longer pink inside and its juices run clear, or your instant-read thermometer reads 165℉/75℃. You may do a test by piercing the chicken with a fork.
- Drain the chicken on paper towels and then transfer them to a wire rack.
- Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Tips & Notes:
- After you coat the chicken with the flour mixture and dip your chicken in buttermilk, let it rest first before frying it. That will allow your chicken to form a crust and warm to room temperature, which will help it cook evenly.
- When frying, ensure your oil is at the right preheated temperature. If it’s too hot, the outside of your chicken will get burned; if it’s cold, the chicken will get soggy and greasy.
- Don’t ever use extra virgin olive oil on fried chicken because it’ll result in bitter-tasting meat. Go for a neutral-tasting oil like canola, vegetable, or, preferably, peanut oil.
- Don’t overcrowd your pan with chicken because it will lower the oil’s temperature and slow the cooking time (soggy chicken isn’t good). Do it in small batches instead.
- A cast-iron pan is a must for a perfectly cooked fried chicken because it holds the temperature better and heats evenly, resulting in perfectly cooked chicken.
- Rather than deep frying or submerging your chicken entirely into the pan or deep fryer, only ¾ of the chicken should be covered in hot oil. The weight of the chicken will cause it to sit just almost above the oil’s surface, creating a crispy crust without burning.
- Don’t let anything fried sit on a paper towel too long because it’ll start to steam. Then your chicken might get soggy and stick to the paper towel. Instead, drain your chicken using a wire rack over a baking sheet, and they’ll cool crispy and dry all at once easily.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
I had trouble cutting this recipe – I’m only cooking for two – so I left out the cornstarch (1 cup seems like way too much, even for 3 cups of flour!) and the baking powder. I too wound up with a hard shell-like crust. I’m new to using a cast-iron skillet (think I need an oil thermometer). I think I was cooking too hot. I do plan to try this recipe again. The pictures look so great & I did get the good flavor from the marinade overnight.
Hi Lynn,
I would divide all the ingredients by half. Also if your temperature is too high the exterior would cook up too fast and the chicken would not be fully cooked. Agreed use a thermometer.
so long as you use the proportions of 3 parts flour to one part cornstartch it will work. Use tablespoons instead if you prefer. You had a hard crust because you left out the baking powder; it makes the coating puff up slightly when fried and this is what goes crispy, without it your coating will be smooth and hard
I don’t know what went wrong. Like earlier response chicken had hard shell and Bundt on outside before inside done. Stated with temperature at 375 . What do you mean about pre-heatedtemperature. Ron
The oil is too hot. I would lower the temperature when the chicken starts to brown fairly quickly.Another great tip – is to fry the chicken until is brown, then pop them into the oven on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is cooked through. Hope this helps
My first perfect bath of fried chicken!
Just cooked it both ways, fried and oven , when I did it in the oven, I added chilli to the crumbs, just right for a bit more tang, great recipe..!
Awesome! Thanks for taking time out to share this with us.
Can you take out the hot sauce or substitute it with something else?
Yes, please feel free to leave out the hot sauce.
Hi! I am trying this recipe out this evening. My hubby says I have the oil too hot so will have to finish in the oven. I used Johnny Seasoning Salt in place of creole seasoning because I didn’t have it to try. I didn’t use the cornstarch and only used 1 1/2 cup of flour because I only had 4 chicken thighs to cook. Of course my kitchen got smoky cause I didn’t lower the temp in time….need a thermometer for sure. Still I am glad I tried this and practice makes perfect. My hubby was a restaurant cook for many years. He says to put te chicken in the oven on 350°F for up to 30 minutes. Bon appetit. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi there,
Can this be made in an air fryer?
Hi Lee,
Sorry haven’t tried it in an air fryer yet. If you do let me know how I works out for you. Thanks.
I am going to let my chicken sit in buttermilk until tomorrow and I AM using an air fryer!
So how did it go???
Followed this recipe and instructions exactly, but didn’t get anywhere near the results others have posted about. The coating wasn’t flaky or tasty. Instead it was more like a hard shell around the pieces of chicken! I had the oil at the recommended temperature, did the buttermilk/spice marinade for approximately 20 hrs. and seasoned the dry ingredients by the exact measurements noted. I did do the double-breading as noted. Maybe that was the mistake. The chicken was moist, but lacked flavor. Very disappointed in the finished product.
I can’t imagine what went wrong. I followed the instruction listed and my chicken was super crispy and flavorful.
Typically, a tablespoon of salt is added, not a teaspoon. Salt brings out the flavors. You would be surprised how much salt restaurants use. In a similar recipe, I used a teaspoon of each ingredient in the flour. Also, use a tablespoon of Ole Bay seasoning in ther flour, too. And instead of double coating, try rinsing the chicken, do a dry coat of flour dashed with salt and pepper, dip in egg and milk, then dip in the seasoned flour mixture before frying. It may be alot of work, but the more love and effort you put into your food will show.
Hi there, I am planing to make chicken and waffles for my sons birthday party (10 teenmonsters)…..do you have any tips for premaking it? Also, do you have a good idea for a healthy side (greens, fruits, veggies?) to calm my bad conscience ?
Hi, Agness. Please check out my Chicken and Waffles blog post here >> https://www.africanbites.com/chicken-waffles/ for some tips and notes.
What is the total timeframe for frying in a cast iron skillet?
Can you put chicken in oven after frying to stay warm?
Hi. Yes, you can. Place them in a cooling rack and lightly dab them to remove excess oil using some paper towels, then place your cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and into the oven. Set the oven to low to keep them warm.
I am a well seasoned cook but I have not ever made fried chicken that came out crispier and tastier than this. I was very surprised as I rarely run across a recipe that is truly a keeper. The crust on this chicken is perfect. Folks in the next county will hear you eating this and they will be coming to get some if they ever get a taste!
Well done – and thank you!
“Fry the chicken until golden brown, turning once every 10 to 20 minutes”
IS THIS RIGHT? THAT’S A PRETTY WIDE TIME RANGE: 20 TO 40 MINUTES??????
The recipe does say “depending on the size of the pieces”, so that would be why the wide time range.
That look good I am going to make some to
Oh my goodness…just made this. My whole family loved it and they are not easy to please. You are an angel from heaven. Thank you xxx
Can you cook southern fried chicken in a conventional over instead if deep frying ?
Yes, you can. You can also refer to this recipe, too >>. https://www.africanbites.com/oven-fried-chicken/