Southern Fried Chicken Recipe (2024)

Make your own juicy and crispy homemade Southern fried chicken with just a few easy steps and ingredients. It tastes just the way mom made it!

Why You’ll Love Fried Chicken

• Making your own fried chicken is incredibly easy, allowing you to save money from any further takeout!
• This fried chicken is made with juicy and flavorful chicken drumsticks and thighs with seasoned batter that fries to a crispy golden brown color.
• You can easily adapt this fried chicken by using gluten-free flour and different combinations of seasoning.

• Chicken – I’ve used chicken thighs and drumsticks for this recipe since these cuts of meat have a higher fat content, making for incredibly flavorful and juice meat. Dark meat pieces are my personal favorite. You can also cut apart a whole chicken and batter up everyone’s favorite pieces!
• Flour – All-purpose flour has been used to coat the raw chicken pieces for frying but you could use gluten-free flour instead.
• Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar per cup of milk needed.
• Oil for frying – I’ve used vegetable oil but you could also use canola oil or another oil that has a high smoke point. I wouldn’t recommend olive oil as its smoke point is much lower – meaning that cooking the chicken at a lower temp will result in absorbing more of the olive oil and the finished chicken will just not be the same with flavor or crunch.
• Seasoning – A combination of smoked paprika, coarse black pepper, coarse sea salt, and onion powder has been used in this recipe. Feel free to experiment with cayenne pepper and chili powder for a kick of heat! Garlic powder, thyme, and oregano are also great seasoning additions.

• If you have time, soak your white meat in a large bowl of buttermilk either overnight, well covered in the refrigerator, or for a minimum of 4 hours in the refrigerator. The acid in the buttermilk will break down the protein in the chicken. This great tip will have you serving the juiciest and most tender chicken pieces ever!
• Dredging/coating chicken in flour should be done at room temperature. This will not lower the temperature of the oil as much as if the chicken was cold from refrigerating prior to frying.
• It is so important to keep the temperature of the oil as constant as possible so that the chicken cooks uniformly and has a lovely golden brown color. Try to keep the temperature between 325 – 350 ‘degrees F.
• A few preparation methods to aid cooking is to poke several holes in the chicken flesh prior to dredging. You can also cut a lengthwise slit along the drumsticks and thighs. The hot oil penetrates the flesh and the chicken will be cooked more thoroughly and evenly. Once cooked you won’t see a cut or a hole in the coating!
• I used an instant-read thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken which should be 165F for it to be safe to eat.
• Putting chicken into the oil will lower the temperature of the oil initially. Keep your eyes on your frying chicken as you need to monitor the temperature of the oil. If it gets too hot, lower the temperature so that the chicken does not become a very dark brown or burn.
• Shake the freshly battered chicken slightly before adding to the hot oil – this will prevent small pieces of batter burning in the oil.

Fun Fact

The first published recipe for fried chicken was by an English cook named Hannah Glasse in 1747. While that may be impressive, stories of this fried food have been passed down in China, Middle East, and West Africa from thousands of years ago! The fried chicken that we know and enjoy today is a happy adaptation thanks to the American South.

Variations

• If you like being adventurous, add spices and seasoning to the tenderizing buttermilk. I know some people like to add their chili powders and sauces into the buttermilk to intensify and change the flavor.
• Another method to finish cooking your chicken is to transfer it to the oven after browning it in the oil. This method works well if you are cooking thicker pieces such as chicken breast. However, should you want to only fry the chicken breasts, remember they will take a little longer to cook through because of their thickness.
• Juicy, delicious drumsticks and wings are my favorite parts of the chicken, plus they are extremely budget-friendly and both cuts of meat cook for the same amount of time. You could also fry similar-sized chicken pieces together because of the cooking time factor.
• There are different methods to drain your fried chicken pieces including draining on brown paper, paper towels, parchment paper, waxed paper, or on a wire rack. It’s really up to you and what you have available.
• If you don’t have a Dutch oven, use a cast iron skillet that’s deep enough to submerge the chicken pieces in oil.

How Should I Store Leftover Fried Chicken?

What is a Dutch Oven and What if I Don’t Have One?

What Other Oils Are Best for This Recipe?

Some oils have a higher smoke point which is perfect for frying chicken. Oil like olive oil cooks at a lower temperature and so I don’t use it in this recipe. Suitable vegetable oils that are neutral flavored oils include canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, or peanut oil.

What Causes the Coating (Known as Breading) to Fall Off the Chicken When Frying?

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