Southern Fried Chicken: A Guide to Making Better Fried Chicken.
Southern Fried Chicken is a favorite dish of the south. It’s easy to make and tastes delicious!
What is Southern Fried Chicken
Southern Fried Chicken is one of the most popular dishes in the South. Made with chicken, flour, and spices (depending on what part of the country you’re in), it’s a simple dish that often includes mashed potatoes and gravy.
At its core, Southern Fried Chicken is just fried chicken. The main difference between Southern Fried Chicken and regular fried chicken is that some recipes call for buttermilk or milk to be added to the batter before frying (to make it more tender). Some people also like to add other ingredients like beer and sweet tea (to make it more flavorful).
Ingredients
- Chicken
- Flour
- Salt and pepper (optional)
- Buttermilk (you can use milk if you don’t have buttermilk)
- Oil, for frying the chicken
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken:
- Rinse and pat dry a 2-pound chicken with paper towels, then place it on a cutting board and cut the backbone out of each side of the bird (cutting through just above where you find two joints). Discard both spines; reserve for a stock or soup if desired
- Bend back one wing of your bird and use kitchen shears to snip off just above where it attaches to body—this will give you an extra-big piece of crispy skin! Repeat on other side.
- Prepare batter: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, kosher salt, cayenne pepper (to taste), freshly ground black pepper (to taste) and paprika until quite uniform in color.
Special Note
- Make sure your oil is hot enough. It should be somewhere between 350 and 375 degrees F (175 to 190 C). You can test this by dropping a small piece of chicken in the pan; if it starts bubbling right away, you’re good to go.
- Don’t crowd the pan—make sure there’s plenty of room between each piece of meat so they can cook evenly.
- Don’t touch the chicken while it’s cooking! It needs space in order for all surfaces to crisp up nicely.
- Don’t overcook your chicken! If you do, it will get dry on account of overcooked juices leaking out as well as not having enough time for all its parts to brown perfectly before being done throughly enough (and beyond).
- Season liberally with salt and pepper—you want lots here because we’re dredging our pieces up later before frying them again after being cooked once already by themselves first; then again after being fried together with other foods later still like potatoes or veggies.
Pro Tip
You’re going to need a cast iron skillet, which will conduct heat very well. The chicken has to be dry before frying so make sure that it doesn’t have any excess moisture on it. A thermometer is also a must—you want the oil hot enough that when you drop a cube of bread into it, it browns in 30 seconds or less. Don’t also forget about your splatter shield!
Add-ins and Variations
- Add green beans and corn to the mix.
- Add a little bit of BBQ sauce, honey, mustard, ketchup or mayo for some extra flavor.
- Try swapping out the chicken for pork or beef!
- Or just keep it simple with plain old fried chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 532
Fat: 24g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 6g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 0g
Protein 71 g
Southern Fried Chicken is a favorite dish of the south.
Southern fried chicken is a favorite dish of the south. It can be served for dinner, for parties, for family gatherings, for special occasions, and even on holidays. This traditional recipe makes homemade Southern fried chicken at its simplest. A family favorite, it is juicy and crispy. Additionally, you don’t need to prepare the meat for a protracted buttermilk marinade.
The two-part batter only entails coating the chicken in a milk and egg mixture before shaking it briefly in seasoned flour. Although some recipes call for boneless chicken breasts or thighs, they produce results that are just as tasty. This meal asks for bone-in chunks. Mash potatoes, cole slaw, creamed corn, or some other vegetable side dish should be served with the chicken.
The best thing about Southern Fried Chicken is that it’s made to serve a crowd, so it’s the perfect dish to take to potlucks and parties. You can also make this recipe in advance, fry it up just before serving, and still have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow! If you want more flavor or heat in your fried chicken dish, try adding some spices or hot sauce as well as using different cooking oils like olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
