Crispy Southern Fried Chicken
Golden crispy outsides, juicy, tender insides and loads of mouthwatering flavor from all the right seasonings, this Southern Fried Chicken recipe is the best of the best! And with these easy-to-follow steps, anyone can serve up this Sunday dinner classic just like a pro.
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Servings: 8 pieces
Ingredients
- 1 whole fryer chicken (about 3 pounds), or 8 pieces of skinless chicken
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1.5 cups buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons hot sauce
- canola, peanut or vegetable oil for frying
Dredge
- 2.5 cups flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1.5 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder. In a large 9x13 dish, arrange chicken. Generously season both sides of each piece of chicken, using all of the seasoning mixture.
- Whisk together buttermilk and hot sauce. Pour over seasoned chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate from 2 hours to overnight.
- Remove chicken from refrigerator. Place a baking sheet with a baking/cooling rack on top next to where you will batter your chicken.
- In a large shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch and dredge seasonings. Remove chicken from marinade one piece at a time. Place in flour dredge and coat. Dip both sides floured chicken into buttermilk soak again and dredge once more. Place battered chicken on baking sheet/cooling rack to "set" while dredging the rest of the chicken and heating the oil.
- Fill a large cast iron skillet about ⅓ full with cooking oil. Over medium high heat, heat oil to 350° Fahrenheit (using a thermometer) or until it pops and crackles when a drop of water is dropped in. Using tongs, gently add chicken to hot oil. Don't overcrowd the skillet. Fry legs and thighs first.
- Turn chicken occasionally to keep from over browning where chicken rests on the bottom of the skillet. When chicken is golden brown and reached an internal temperature of 165°, remove from skillet and place on clean baking rack in a sheet pan to drain. Sheet pan can be placed in the oven to keep chicken warm.