This Southern Style Fried Chicken is the best representation of juicy chicken on the inside with irresistible crust so full of crunchy ripples.
Southern Style Fried Chicken. You read it right….fried chicken. Don’t you walk away here. I know that each and everyone of you has a weak spot for the juicy, finger-licking meat wrapped in golden, crispy skin. After all it’s Fry-day, so give yourself a break.
The very best part of eating this chicken is that you, my friend, can make this crispy, delicious meal at home. Forget about KFC and other local chicken joints. Don’t be intimidated by deep frying process. By following these few simple steps and having proper tools, you’ll make the whole experience fairly easy. And once you get the hang of this, you can FRY ANYTHANG. I mean–think about it: donuts, pirozhki, belyashi, chebureki. Oh man. Donuts. I’m just looking out for your best interests here. I am your supporter.
Chicken Cuts
Let’s be real here — everybody wants a drumstick. Avoid buying breasts because of their longer cook time, and go straight for the drumsticks or a 50/50 split of drumsticks and thighs.
Dry Mixture
Along with some flour and unique spice blend to drench the chicken in, I’ve learned that the addition of cornstarch really makes the crust crispier.
Frying
Use the deep frying thermometer and be sure to diligently watch the frying oil temperature (325-330°F is best) to make sure you don’t over cook that glorious skin and undercook your bird. You’ll notice that the oil drops in temperature as chicken pieces are added to the pot. You’ll need to monitor it by adjusting the heat as you fry.
Cooling
Move your finished fried chicken to a cooling rack set over a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Setting the chicken directly on paper towels will make crust we worked so hard for soggy.
If you can nail that, the rest is as easy as following a simple recipe, and is straightforward.
- 14 chicken drumsticks (or 50/50 drumsticks & thighs)
- 2 quarts oil, for frying
- Dry Mixture:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tbsp ground mustard
- Wet Batter:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Equipment:
- Deep frying thermometer
- Dutch oven or other deep heavy duty frying pot
- Baking sheet with wire cooling rack
- Long tongs
- Paper towels
- Wipe the chicken with paper towels and leave to dry out for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Prepare the dry mixture by combining all the ingredients in the large bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl mix the eggs with buttermilk, then add flour and the spices.
- Heat the oil in a dutch oven or any other heavy duty deep pot until thermometer reaches 325F. Plan on frying no more than 3 pieces of chicken at a time, in order to not overcrowd the pot.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the wet batter. Then coat it in dry mixture all over.
- Carefully place each piece in oil. Fry for 15 min or until deep golden brown.
- Remove chicken onto the cooling rack and proceed with the next batch. Adjust the temperature after each batch.
- Allow the chicken to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Oh my goodness!!! That looks spectacular. Clearly it has been far too long since I fired chicken at home.
Saving your recipe to try.
…..so hungry now
Thank you! I hope you love it!
The crispiness on these bad boys is insane! <3
My lifestyle is 95% pescetarian (I leave that 5% flex for the occasional chicken wings and trying out meaty foods I could put pescetarian spins on). But I'd gladly stray for a day to eat these. Oh boy. I live in the Southern US now, so I see a lot of fried chicken, and this is so sososo on point.
Thanks Dana! I hope you give these a try one day!
Omg this looks delicious! I’ve been on the hunt for an easy fried chicken recipe and this hits the mark! Also your photos are awesome!
Great to hear! Thanks so much Jessica!
Oh yes!! I am definitely a sucker for fried chicken. You got me! lol
Well done on this post, I have avoided frying my own chicken for so many reasons, most of which is that I have a fear of frying. I manage to beat it down once a year to fry up my arancini though. Maybe this recipe is the next ‘exception’.
I hear you Bernice! I fear deep frying too, but I still do it because of this chicken and doughnuts of course ha-ha!
Wow this chicken looks absolutely perfect! Love the smoked paprika in the dry rub.
Thanks Louisa!
I just made fried chicken sliders and it reminded me how I need to make fried chicken more often because it’s so freaking good! Your recipe looks amazing and super crispy, just the way I like it!
Fried chicken sliders! OMG! I’m in 🙂 Thanks Megan!
Would you look at the nooks and crannies on that crispy chicken!?!?!? Nothing slimy of greasy about it. I’m so excited to try this. Mine often comes out a bit soggy, but these look spot on. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks so much Ashley! I hope you’ll try this recipe one day as well! Cheers!
Love how you seasoned every step of the way! I bet this is amazing!
Thanks so much Mandy!
This looks absolutely AMAZING!! YUM!
Thank you Linda!
Looks AMAZING, I’m drooling right now! Can’t wait to make this!
Thanks Jaclyn! I hope you do!
These photos are SO gorgeous!! And the chicken looks so perfectly crispy!
Thanks Sues!
Nothing beats a good Southern style fried chicken! You even used buttermilk which is perfect. This looks perfectly crispy, too. 🙂
Thanks so much Kim! Yup, buttermilk is a miracle:)
Fried Chicken??? Yep!!! Count me in! I have a true weakness for fried chicken and this looks marvelous!
Thank you Kathy! I feel ya with fried chicken! 🙂