The Most Reliable Southern Fried Chicken Recipe

crowdsource Community Insights

This one comes out tasty and most people who made it said they'd make it again, but a few real pitfalls kept showing up. People who added vinegar and pepper to the raw chicken found that caused problems; the cooks who skipped that step (and who avoided too much or any hot pepper) were happier with the result. A bunch of home cooks also discovered frying in dripping (tallow) or lard was a mistake for this recipe. If you use a ziplock bag to coat the chicken, it’s a personal choice, some let the air out before sealing, others left a bit in.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Reliable Results: It turns out well consistently, with few reported problems.
• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

Brine

• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp salt
• Buttermilk (or milk, cream)

Coating and chicken

• Chicken, dried with paper towel
• Plain flour

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Combine black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and stir to make the spice mix.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a zip-top bag or bowl.
3. Add the spice mix and 2 tablespoons of salt to the bag, then pour the buttermilk in and mix so the chicken is coated.
4. Seal and refrigerate the chicken for two to four hours or overnight, turning the bag and squishing the chicken occasionally.
5. When ready to cook, remove chicken from the brine and let excess drip off.
6. Pour plain flour into a shallow pan. Dredge each piece in the flour, pressing the flour onto the chicken so it adheres, and place the coated pieces on a cookie sheet to rest so the coating can set.
7. Heat frying fat in a skillet on the stove and bring the oil temperature back up to 350u00b0F before adding chicken.
8. Add a couple pieces of chicken at a time (do not overcrowd); watch the oil and adjust the heat as needed so the temperature recovers toward 350u00b0F.
9. Fry the chicken, flipping occasionally, until the coating is craggly and golden and the pieces reach an internal temperature of 165u00b0F; for thighs this size this takes about 15 minutes.
10. Remove the cooked pieces and check final internal temperature, then let the oil return to temperature before frying the next batch.

crowdsource Community Insights

This recipe nails the flavor, but a few practical things kept tripping people up. People who brought the chicken to room temperature before cooking usually regretted it, so most stuck with the pieces straight from the fridge. Seasoning the flour matters, a lot of cooks who skimped found the coating bland, while those who seasoned it well got much better flavor (just don’t dump an extra mountain of salt into the flour). Finally, the cooks who limited flipping to a single turn during frying tended to keep the crust crispier than the ones who fiddled with the pieces.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 1/2-1 cup Flour
• 1/4 cup Cornstarch
• The Level Up A Seasoning, to taste
• 8-10 piece Chicken, bone-in
• 1-2 cup Buttermilk
• Oil for frying
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• Tabasco hot sauce

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Trim and prepare the chicken pieces as desired.
2. In a bowl combine buttermilk, Tabasco hot sauce, and The Level Up A seasoning; mix to make the marinade.
3. Add the chicken to the marinade, ensure all pieces are submerged, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours (preferably 4 hours or overnight).
4. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and place on a baking sheet to come up to room temperature, letting excess buttermilk drip off.
5. In a separate bowl mix the flour (1/2–1 cup), cornstarch (1/4 cup), additional The Level Up A seasoning, freshly ground black pepper, and a couple pinches of salt until combined.
6. Remove each piece of chicken from the marinade, shake off excess buttermilk, then press and squeeze the chicken into the flour mixture so it is well coated; set coated pieces aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
7. Heat oil in a frying pan (or deep fryer) to 375 F; use a splash guard and a meat thermometer to monitor temperature.
8. Gently place coated chicken in the hot oil (do not fully submerge). Fry starting at 375 F, flipping each piece only once; avoid flipping back to prevent soggy skin. Cook until the exterior is crispy and the chicken is cooked through.
9. Drain the fried chicken and serve.

crowdsource Community Insights

This recipe mostly comes down to oil temperature and not overheating the pan. People who didn’t check the heat often ended up with burned crust; testing the oil by flicking a little water into it helped folks know when to start, and turning the burner down as the pieces cooked prevented burning. If you want more seasoning, some people let the chicken sit overnight or briefly brined it in pickle juice, both are optional. Also watch how much seasoning you put in the flour; a number of cooks used about 0.5 tablespoon of salt to avoid an overly salty coating.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 1 cup Flour
• 1/4 cup Creole Kick
• 1 tbsp Onion powder
• 1 tbsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Black pepper, freshly ground
• 6-8 Chicken pieces, washed and patted dry
• 1 1/2 cup Buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Dill pickle juice
• Water
• Vegetable oil

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Place the chicken pieces in a resealable bag and add buttermilk, dill pickle juice, and a little water; seal the bag and mix so the chicken is coated.
2. Refrigerate to marinate about two hours (you can marinate 30 minutes; up to overnight).
3. Whisk the flour, Creole Kick, onion powder, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper together in a bowl; taste the seasoned flour and add a couple of pinches of kosher salt if needed.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350–360°F or is shimmering with a few ripples (use a meat thermometer or visual cue).
5. Remove a piece of chicken from the bag and let it drip dry slightly, then dredge it in the seasoned flour, squeeze/massage the coating to adhere, tap off excess on a baking sheet, and let it rest; repeat for remaining pieces.
6. Fry the chicken in batches by placing pieces away from you into the hot oil; cook until the bottom side is golden, flip, and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
7. Remove the fried chicken and let it rest until it is not too hot before serving.

crowdsource Community Insights

This one trips people up in a couple of predictable ways. People who cooked at 180°C ran into trouble, so avoid that oven setting. Also, a lot of cooks swapped out corn, canola, or other seed/vegetable oils for beef tallow or lard and preferred the results, the ones using seed oils tended to be less happy. If you want juicier chicken, some people brined overnight before coating and frying; it’s optional, but those who did were glad they did. These are the three changes most people made that helped the dish turn out better.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Reliable Results: It turns out well consistently, with few reported problems.
• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• Chicken
• 12 gram per pound of chicken salt
• 1/4 cup per pound of chicken all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup per pound of chicken potato starch (or cornstarch)
• 1/2 cup per pound of chicken buttermilk
• 2 teaspoon per pound of chicken baking powder
• 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken black pepper
• 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon per pound of chicken onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon per pound of chicken cayenne pepper
• Oregano
• Monosodium glutamate, to taste
• Vegetable oil (or canola oil, corn oil, peanut oil)

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Salt the chicken in advance, preferably at least 24 hours, and refrigerate (no amount for the advance salting was specified).
2. While salting, mix salt with spices if desired (the creator mentions salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and oregano as the salting/spice mixture).
3. Toss the chicken in a first coating of plain all-purpose flour (use 0.25 cup of flour per pound of chicken) and set the coated chicken aside to rest; aim for about an hour if possible (any amount of rest is better than none).
4. Make the exterior dredge in a second bowl: combine 0.75 cup all-purpose flour per pound of chicken with 1/3 cup potato starch per pound of chicken, add about 12 gram salt per pound of chicken to the dredge, optionally add MSG, and add baking powder at 2 teaspoons per pound of chicken; also add spices to this dredge (about 1 teaspoon per pound of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon per pound black pepper, 1 teaspoon per pound garlic powder, 1 teaspoon per pound onion powder, and optional 0.5 teaspoon per pound cayenne).
5. Pour buttermilk into a separate bowl at 0.5 cup per pound of chicken to be your wet dredge.
6. Add about 3–4 tablespoons per pound of the flour/starch dredge mixture into the buttermilk and whisk until slightly thinner than pancake batter; wait until the baking powder activates and bubbles form in the liquid.
7. Take a small amount of that bubbly buttermilk mixture and stir it back into the flour/starch dredge to form clumps; these clumps will fry into extra-craggy bits.
8. Breading order: start with the chicken already coated in the first flour layer, dip each piece into the buttermilk batter, then dredge in the seasoned flour/starch mixture to form the exterior breading.
9. Heat a neutral-tasting frying oil and monitor with a deep-fry thermometer. For smaller cuts (tenders, nuggets, sandwich cutlets) fry at about 350° F. For larger cuts and dark meat fry at about 325° F to allow longer cooking without over-browning the exterior.
10. Fry pieces until the exterior is brown to your liking. For larger bone-in pieces, after frying until browned, transfer them to a 350° F oven and finish cooking until internal temperature reaches about 160° F for light meat or 175° F or higher for dark meat (the creator notes this oven finish for most average sized pieces is about 10 minutes).
11. If desired, use the double-fry technique for extra crispiness: after the initial fry let the chicken rest at least 15 minutes, then fry again at the same or slightly higher temperature to re-crisp the exterior.
12. When finished frying, you may strain and reuse the oil a few times: strain through paper towels or cheesecloth and store in a cool, dark place. To discard oil, the creator suggests using oil-solidifier product per package instructions and then disposing in the trash after it solidifies.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

House seasoning

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup onion powder

For the chicken

• Chicken pieces, bone-in pieces
• Eggs, beaten
• Water
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (or Texas Pete, another Louisiana-style hot sauce)

Coating and frying

• All-purpose flour
• Peanut oil

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Make the house seasoning: combine 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup garlic powder, 1/4 cup black pepper, and 1/4 cup onion powder.
2. Put on gloves if desired; season all chicken pieces with the house seasoning.
3. Bring the seasoned chicken toward room temperature (let sit until almost room temperature).
4. Make the egg marinade: beat the fresh eggs with a little drop of water and the hot sauce (the recipe adds about 5 ounces, roughly 3/4 cup, of hot sauce).
5. Cover the chicken with the egg and hot sauce mixture and let it marinate in that mixture for about 30 minutes.
6. After marinating, place the chicken in a colander to drain and discard the used egg/hot sauce marinade; do not refrigerate and reuse it.
7. Heat peanut oil in a cast-iron skillet and bring the oil to right at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, monitoring with a candy thermometer.
8. Choose dark pieces first (thighs and legs). Dunk each dark piece in the egg mixture, then toss in all-purpose flour to coat; do not season the flour because the chicken is already seasoned.
9. Carefully add the coated dark pieces to the hot oil; leave them undisturbed at first so the flour can grab and form a crust, and keep the candy thermometer in the oil to monitor temperature.
10. Fry dark pieces until cooked through, about 14 to 15 minutes, bringing the oil back up toward 350°F as needed while monitoring the temperature.
11. After dark pieces are done, repeat the dunking and dredging process for white pieces and fry them about 12 to 13 minutes.
12. Check doneness by inserting a thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken; finished chicken should read between 165 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Reliable Results: It turns out well consistently, with few reported problems.
• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• 3 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pickle juice
• 1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 tbsp Creole seasoning
• 1 tbsp Complete seasoning
• 3 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp adobo seasoning
• 1 tbsp lemon pepper

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Place the chicken pieces in a container and add buttermilk, pickle juice, Louisiana hot sauce, Creole seasoning, and Complete seasoning; mix to combine, cover, and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
2. Combine the all-purpose flour with onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, ground black pepper, adobo seasoning, lemon pepper, Creole seasoning, and Complete seasoning; mix very well with a fork or a whisk and set the seasoned flour aside.
3. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow excess buttermilk to drip off before dredging.
4. Dredge each chicken piece thoroughly in the seasoned flour, shake off excess flour, and flour all pieces ahead of frying.
5. Preheat the frying oil to 370°F.
6. Gently place chicken into the hot oil and fry for about 8 to 10 minutes, then check the internal temperature with a thermometer and confirm it reaches 165°F.
7. Fry the remaining batch the same way until all pieces register 165°F and are golden and crispy.

crowdsource Community Insights

This turns out tasty, but people who made it kept running into a couple of practical problems you should know about. Folks who set a paper bag near the heat regretted it, there were near-fires and burned feet, so keep any paper well away and people often wear socks because bare feet took the brunt when splatters happened. For the crust, some cooks swore by double-frying for extra crispness, while others let the pieces sit on a rack for about 30 minutes after brining to let the coating set before frying. Those two options both help the texture, so pick the one that fits your time and patience.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp paprika (or if using mild paprika, add a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat; or use hot paprika instead)
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp black pepper, ground
• 1 cup buttermilk, liquid (or mixture of yogurt and regular milk (about half-and-half as a substitute))
• 1 egg, whole
• 1 whole chicken chicken, cut into 10 pieces (or drumsticks, whole legs, boneless pieces, white meat or dark meat (either is acceptable))
• 2 quart rice bran oil (or peanut oil, shortening, lard, vegetable oil, canola oil)
• Hot honey

book_ribbon Instructions

Brine and coating

1. Make the dry dredge: combine about 1 cup flour, about 3/4 cup rice flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and a big pinch of salt; set aside.
2. Make the spice mix: combine about 1 tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoons oregano, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, about 2 tablespoons ground black pepper, and a pinch of salt; mix.
3. Transfer about two thirds of the spice mix into the flour dredge and reserve the remainder for the brine.
4. Make the brine/batter: whisk together about 1 cup buttermilk, 1 egg, the remainder of the spice mix, about another tablespoon of salt, and a little pinch of the dredging mixture to thicken it slightly.
5. Break down the chicken: cut the whole chicken into pieces (legs, thighs, wings with a little breast attached, back for stock, breasts split) so you end up with about 10 pieces.
6. Combine chicken and brine: toss the chicken pieces in the buttermilk/spice mixture until thoroughly coated, transfer to a container or a zip-top bag (turn the bag inside-out to keep the seal area clean), press out most of the air by sealing nearly all the way, lay flat, squeeze remaining air out, and close.
7. Refrigerate the chicken in the brine at least overnight; you may brine up to two or three nights.

Dredging and double-frying

1. Prepare the seasoned flour just before frying: drizzle a couple tablespoons of the wet brine mixture into the seasoned flour to create small clumps in the flour so later batches get extra nooks and crannies.
2. Dredge the chicken: add pieces one at a time to the bowl of flour so each is thoroughly coated, then place coated pieces into a paper/shopping bag; pinch the top closed and shake to finish coating.
3. Do not let coated chicken rest for long before frying; fry right after dredging to avoid the coating hydrating and becoming tough.
4. Heat oil in a wok (or Dutch oven) and bring to around 325 degrees Fahrenheit (the oil may read 340–350; that's acceptable); when you add chicken the oil temperature should drop and you want the post-drop temperature for the initial cook to be about 250–275 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Lower pieces gently into the oil close to the surface and let them sit a bit before fully releasing to avoid splashes and to help the crust set; leave pieces undisturbed for a few minutes, then flip very gently with a flexible spatula to promote even color and prevent dark spots or losing the crust.
6. Cook the pieces in the initial fry until their internal temperatures reach about 155°F for breasts and about 165–175°F for legs and thighs; large breasts may take longer (he estimated about 10–12 minutes for many pieces, but noted some breasts took closer to 20 minutes).
7. Remove pieces as they hit their target temperatures; continue frying remaining pieces, adding pieces back to the oil as space allows.
8. Let the fried pieces rest so moisture migrates toward the crust (this softens the crust briefly), or refrigerate if you plan to double-fry later; the resting period can be several hours or overnight.
9. Second fry to crisp: heat oil to 300–325°F when re-frying hot pieces; if re-frying pieces straight from the refrigerator or doing a large batch, preheat oil higher (he recommended about 375°F) so the oil temperature drops to roughly 300°F when pieces are added.
10. Re-fry each piece until the crust becomes deeply golden and ultra-crisp — for hot pieces this will be only a couple of minutes; at the restaurant they set a timer for 3 minutes for refrigerated pieces and about 4–5 minutes for very large breasts.
11. Drain the freshly fried pieces in a bowl lined with paper towels (to wick away excess oil) or on a sheet pan with paper towels, then season immediately while hot.
12. Optionally drizzle with hot honey before serving.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• Chicken, thighs and drumsticks
• Buttermilk, enough to cover chicken
• Salt, to taste
• All purpose flour
• Cornstarch
• Baking powder, to taste
• Paprika
• Smoked paprika
• Dry mustard
• Chicken bouillon powder, to taste
• Black pepper
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Thyme
• Peanut oil (or any neutral high smoke point oil)
• Ranch dressing
• Blue cheese dressing

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Place chicken pieces in a container and cover with buttermilk; add a pinch of salt and mix to coat every piece, then cover and refrigerate 2 to 6 hours to marinate.
2. Combine all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, paprika, dry mustard, chicken bouillon powder, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, and smoked paprika in a bowl and whisk to fully combine to make the dredge.
3. Set up a dredge station with the wet marinated chicken on one side and the flour mixture in a bowl for dredging.
4. Drop a few spoonfuls of the wet dredge into the dry dredge and mix with your hands to create craggly bits in the flour.
5. Using one hand for wet and the other for dry, work one piece of chicken at a time: shake off excess buttermilk, move it into the flour, then press, push, and squeeze the flour onto the chicken until fully coated; shake off excess flour and place the coated piece on a wire rack lined baking sheet to rest.
6. Fill a heavy bottom pot with a neutral high smoke point oil (peanut oil used here) and heat to frying temperature, then fry the chicken in batches.
7. Lower pieces into the oil gently, starting with the thighs so similarly sized pieces cook together; wave them slightly back and forth as they go in so they enter gradually.
8. Fry pieces until golden brown, being careful not to break off any crispy bits.
9. Remove fried pieces to a towel-lined baking sheet, sprinkle a pinch of salt onto them immediately, then transfer carefully to a wire rack lined baking sheet and finish cooking in the oven.
10. Fry smaller pieces (drumsticks) after the thighs and add them to the oven with the thighs so everything finishes at the same time.
11. While frying, let the oil come back up to temperature between batches; if the flour mixture looks too smooth while dredging, add more of the craggly flour bits and squish them together to restore texture.
12. Serve the fried chicken immediately and optionally pair with ranch dressing and blue cheese dressing for dipping.