The Best Southern Fried Chicken
If you want a crazy delicious fried chicken recipe, then it has to be this recipe for The Best Southern Fried Chicken. Crispy, flavorful and absolutely divine!
FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE FOR CRUNCHY SKIN AND TENDER CHICKEN
I’m from the south and we all know that Fried Chicken is a staple here. Something that you are born to love and born to eat! This recipe for The Best Southern Fried Chicken is one of my favorite recipes and one that took me a few years to get just right. This recipe produces a crunchy exterior with moist chicken on the inside. The absolute perfect chicken in my opinion. Really good fried chicken takes time so don’t rush this one.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
No, please don’t if at all possible. If you are going to go through the trouble of making fried chicken from scratch, you will be missing out on so much flavor. Please, please try to pick up the real stuff (not the kind that you make with milk and vinegar and lemon juice (more on that below – that is good for most recipes but not the most ideal for fried chicken). An overnight soak is optimal for maximum juiciness.
The mixture of the cornstarch and flour helps give it that extra crunchy exterior.
This recipe works with any cut of chicken. The key is just making sure the chicken is cooked to 165F degrees internal temperature.
Peanut oil has a neutral flavor that won’t compromise the flavor of the chicken. Canola oil would be my second choice.
I deep fry my chicken in a deep fryer but you can also do this in a deep, heavy bottomed pot. I just find that you often get darker burn-like spots with a cast iron pan if you aren’t super careful.
Well, you’ll need to use their famous 11 herbs and spices. Just substitute the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in this recipe for the following seasonings: (you will skip the step of seasoning the individual chicken pieces and stir in 2 1/2 Tablespoons of this seasoning in with the flour/cornstarch mixture).
Note: you will not use this entire amount. Mix it together and use about 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the mixture in place of the seasonings I provide below if using it in this recipe.
2 teaspoons salt
½ Tablespoon dried thyme
½ Tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon celery salt
½ Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon mustard powder
2 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons garlic salt
1 Tablespoon powdered ginger
1 Tablespoon pepper (use white pepper if you have it)
The possibilities are endless. Some of our favorites are: Southern Fried Okra, Potato Salad, Cole Slaw, Butter Swim Biscuits and Macaroni and Cheese.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- whole chicken (cut up) – you can just use your favorite cut of chicken here: breasts, thighs, wings, legs.
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder – this is the blend of seasonings I enjoy but feel free to use your favorite or use the copycat KFC seasoning blend above in the FAQ.
- buttermilk – I talk about this in more detail above in the Frequently Asked Question section. This really makes the meat so tender and keeps it from being dry. As I said above, there really is just no true substitute for buttermilk here. If you are in an absolute pinch, you can check out my post on How to Make Buttermilk (but seriously, try to use the real stuff here).
- hot sauce – this is optional but adds a nice little kick.
- cornstarch – this is what gives you that crispy skin so don’t skip it.
- peanut oil – this is my favorite oil to fry in since it isn’t going to take away flavor from the chicken (and its the less stinky kind of oil).
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN:
Place the cut up chicken in a large bowl. Add the salt, garlic powder, and onion powder, toss to coat the chicken in the spices.
Add the buttermilk and hot sauce to the bowl, stir until everything is combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but it’s best if you can let it sit overnight.
In a medium-sized bowl add the flour, cornstarch, salt and black pepper.
Whisk this mixture together until completely combined.
Taking the chicken pieces one at a time, let the excess buttermilk drip off. Coat in the flour mixture, make sure the chicken is well coated. Shake off any excess. Set the chicken aside and let it sit for a few minutes until the coating starts to look a little pasty.
Fill up a deep fryer with peanut oil (or neutral frying oil of your choice) and preheat to 325°F. (If using a dutch oven or cast iron skillet, I would recommend preheating to 300°F – you may need to turn down the heat if you notice it getting too hot – cast iron holds heat very well so it is easy for it to get too hot so please monitor.) Carefully add the piece of chicken to the deep fryer. Fry until golden brown, turning every few minutes. You will need to fry in batches so you do not overcrowd the fryer.
Chicken is done when golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Depending on the size of the chicken, dark meat takes about 12-14 minutes and white meat takes 8-10 minutes.
When the chicken is done frying, place it on a paper towel lined sheet tray and immediately sprinkle a little flaked salt on top. Continue with the rest of the chicken pieces.
HOW TO STORE:
- Chicken needs to be stored in the refrigerator. To do this, you will want to let the fried chicken cool completely before preparing to store, this will help the coating stay crisp.
- Place the cooked chicken in an airtight container and place it in the refrigerator where it will stay good for up to 5 days. You can reheat in the oven, microwave or an air fryer. The oven and the air fryer will help keep the skin crispy while re-heating.
- If you want to freeze the fried chicken then you will want to store in an airtight container and place in the freezer where it will stay good for up to 6 months.
- To reheat Fried Chicken from frozen you will want to let it thaw in the refrigerator and then bake it in the oven (at 400F degrees) or use an air fryer until heated through.
CRAVING MORE SOUTHERN RECIPES?
The Best Southern Fried Chicken (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut up (or 8 pieces of your favorite cuts of chicken)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- peanut oil (for frying)
- flaked salt (for serving, optional)
Instructions
- Place 1 whole chicken, cut up in a large bowl. Sprinkle on top of the chicken: 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 2 teaspoons onion powder then toss to coat the chicken in the spices.
- Add 2 cups buttermilk and 2 Tablespoons hot sauce, stir until everything is combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, but it’s best if you can let it sit overnight.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup cornstarch, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons paprika and 2 teaspoons black pepper. Set aside.
- Fill up a deep fryer with peanut oil (or neutral frying oil of your choice) and preheat to 325°F – you may need to turn down the heat to 300°F if you notice the skin is getting dark too quickly. Also, if using a cast iron skillet, please remember it holds heat very well so it is easy for it to get too hot so please monitor closely.
- Taking the chicken pieces one at a time, let the excess buttermilk drip off. Coat in the flour mixture, make sure the chicken is well coated. Shake off any excess. Set the chicken aside and let it sit for a few minutes until the coating starts to look a little pasty.
- Carefully add the piece of chicken to the deep fryer and continue with the next piece. Don't add more than three or four pieces at at time. You will need to fry in batches so you do not overcrowd the fryer. Fry until golden brown, turning every few minutes.
- Chicken is done when golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Depending on the size of the chicken, dark meat can take about 12-14 minutes and white meat takes 8-10 minutes (these are estimates – use a meat thermometer for accurate doneness)
- When the chicken is done frying, place it on a paper towel lined sheet tray and immediately sprinkle a little flaked salt on top. Continue with the rest of the chicken pieces.
Video
Notes
- You can let this soak for a minimum of 2 hours but the key to the best flavor is letting it soak overnight. It gives time for the buttermilk to do its magic!
- The mixture of the cornstarch and flour helps give it that extra crunchy exterior. Don’t like it crunchy? Just leave out the cornstarch.
- We used a whole cut up chicken, you can buy it that way or break down your own.
- Peanut oil is the best for frying this recipe but canola or vegetable work as well.
- I deep fry my chicken in a deep fryer but you can also do this in a large cast iron pan as well. If you aren’t accustomed to frying, it can be difficult to maintain the proper temperature so an electric deep fryer is very helpful. If you find the chicken is darkening too quickly on the outside, it probably means your oil has gotten too hot so it’s very important to maintain temperature. Again, if you are not accustomed to frying, thermometers safe for frying and a meat thermometer are your best friends!
- Buttermilk is absolutely necessary for this to turn out moist. If you cannot find buttermilk you can make your own by mixing 1 cup of regular milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then stir.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I look forward to trying your recipes for fried chicken and banana pudding. I believe they will turn out great. Thanks for the recipes
Best. Chicken. Ever. I cannot rave enough about how moist, crunchy and flavorful the batter is. I will never make it another way again!
Honestly just tried this and for me it was perfection
I just spiced it up a but more thanks so much
Best fired chicken I’ve ever eaten and made! Outstanding!!!!!!! 5 stars
Thanks so very much Jesse! Appreciate ya!
Now this was some well seasoned chicken! The batter was crispy and I got so many compliments from folks after making it! My new favorite way to make it!
It is easy to follow
Excellent! Best I have ever made. My Momma would be proud!
We like spiciness of Popeyes chicken so I added cayenne to the flour also used king Arthur’s whole wheat flour . Added cayenne to the seasoning on chicken before bath. Also after chicken got alittle pasty I put in flour again to make really crunchy. And it was awesome. Best fried chicken I ever made my husband said.
best fried chicken recipe I’ve found in years
Came out absolutely delicious! Your directions were very clear. I appreciate all the photos so I could make sure I was doing it correctly.
Very good fried chicken. Made it exactly to the recipe, no changes needed
Delicious! So flavorful and perfectly seasoned and the chicken came out so moist!
Like another commenter said, I never leave recipe reviews but this recipe turned out great so I wanted to go out of my way to mention it. Chicken came out really crispy on the outside and moist on the inside and had a nice flavor even with using vegetable oil instead of peanut.
I’ve made this before but i added a 1/4 cup of panko and it was a great addition.
ok. now this was damn good, and honestly, i’m usually not even that crazy about fried chicken. but this takes me back to being a little kid in the 1990s and getting church’s for dinner on the friday nights when my dad wasn’t away from home working on the oil rig. thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories and the awesome recipe.
keep up the good work.
Loved reading your comment Shane! Nothing makes me happier than hearing that a recipe brought back good memories! I appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
I’ve never written a recipe review before, but feel this recipe is worth it. I followed the recipe and all the directions. This is best fried chicken I have ever had, not just that I’ve made. Even the left overs the next day were spectacular, and still crunchy! I will make over and over. Thank you for a great recipe!
I am thrilled you decided to comment on this recipe! It means more than you know when someone comments they enjoy the recipe. It really helps me to know how a recipe turned out for folks (most people just comment bad but not the good lol) so thank you so much for that!
Can this be done in an air fryer instead deep frying
It won’t come out the same and definitely not as crispy. You may want to find a recipe that was created especially for the air fryer.
Excellent recipe! Juicy and the breading was perfect. Everything was nicely seasoned.
I discovered a long forgotten bag of drumsticks in the freezer and treated them to your recipe. Could not have been better! Followed as written and couldn’t have been better. My cherished cast iron chicken fryer did it proud. Mashed potatoes, milk gravy and sautéed kale with
Made this for the first time today, along with some biscuits and mashed potatoes. Big hit!
I followed this recipe exactly and my family loved it. Excellent and will definitely make this again!
I had a taste for great fried chicken and this hit it perfectly.
It’s nice you can prep everything in advance and fry it when you want it.
When the chicken cools off you can even taste all the good flavors.
Make enough so you have leftovers the next day. Yummy,
I made this chicken tonight for dinner, it turned out great! There were a couple things I did do differently. For one, instead of using a whole chicken, I made it with just wings, a family favorite. I did marinate in the buttermilk, but because my family doesn’t really like heat, I cut the hot sauce in half, it still added flavor, but virtually no heat. I also, instead of frying all the way through, I only browned the wings in oil, then transferred them to a 375 degree oven to finish cooking. They turned out very crispy, and very moist. Love this recipe.
How long did you bake chicken on 375 after browning?
Can chicken breast be used.
Is 7 hrs enough marinade can’t wait
I made this with regular milk, and it turned out great! I can only imagine how good it would have been if I had buttermilk!
It was full of flavor and had the best crunch. Probably the best fried chicken I have ever had! Thank you for sharing it!
only my second time ever frying chicken and it turned out absolutely perfect!!
Wow! This is the first time that fried chicken turned out good for me! What a difference that marinating makes! Thank you so much!
This recipe was a HIT for the family. We subbed boneless chicken breasts and cut into tenders. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe is absolutely amazing it was relatively easy to make the chicken was so moist and juicy and the flavor phenomenal
Absolutely fantastic!!!!
Thank you for sharing!
Seriously the best fried chicken. Thank you for the great instructions and the video. It was all super helpful. Will definitely make again.
Made this recipe tonight with drumsticks and they were aaaaahhhhhmmmaaazzziiinnnggggg! Next time I’ll really let them marinate. Tonight I only had about an hour. Made scratch biscuits too. Praise Jesus for Sundays!!
Hahahaha – yes!! Love hearing that Kirsten, thank you!
Tried this using chicken breast pieces and it worked perfectly. Served with mashed potatoes and brown gravy for a great meal. My go to recipe now for fried chicken.
I used this recipe to skillet fry breast pieces for biscuit sandwiches with honey butter. It was delicious, and much easier than I thought it would be. I will definitely use it again for all my fried chicken meals. Thank you for sharing.
Seasoning was spot on. I will never make it any other way now!
I am 61-year-old from Georgia in search of a fried chicken recipe that can substitute my mom’s and my sister’s since they aren’t available. I don’t eat a lot of fried foods but when I do I wanted to be good.
I was skeptical I follow the instructions to the tee. I even marinated the chicken for 24 hours. The chicken really took on the flavor of the marinade.
Great and easy recipe. Made it last night with a twist of other seasoning. Crispy and Crunchy. Thank You for sharing it.
Very forgiving recipe and it’s fantastic.
I always wanted to fry chicken with a Buttermilk recipe and last night, I finally did it with your recipe. my grandchildren loved the fried chicken and so did I. It was delicious, and the chicken was crispy and tender on inside. There was no leftovers as they ate every piece I fried. I helped too!! thank you for a great recipe. I will definitely be using this recipe again with frying chicken.
What a Wonderful recipe! I followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. My first 3 batches of 4 legs were perfect. The fourth batch burned so I started over with fresh oil and paid attention to the oil temp! Thank you!!! I don’t know how my grandmother made fried chicken every Sunday without a thermometer!
My family absolutely loves this recipe for fried chicken. I used all boneless, skinless thighs. Chicken was very tasty, tender and crispy. This is now my go to fried chicken recipe.Ga
That means a lot to hear Gail – thank you!
The best fried chicken I have ever made and I am not kidding! I have never been able to successfully fry chicken. It can seem easy but it’s not. Thank you so much for the video and step by step photos and your great directions. It all helped so much and it came out perfect for me for the first time ever!! I will never use another recipe in my life LOL
Ive never reviewed a recipe, until now. This is the best fried chicken Ive ever had in my life. I doubled the buttermilk soak, did 6 chicken legs and 6 tenderloins. It was about perfect, probably could have had a couple more of each if needed. 10 out of 10. Will use this the rest of my life.
This is literally the perfect recipe. Followed your directions and it came out so crispy and the chicken was so good!
Ok I am going to try it
That’s the spirit!!
This is my very first time making fried chicken and I’m nervous as all hell! Been putting it off for too long but I’m going for it. No turning back now!
*Plus, this post was on my birthday last year at the exact time I was born. That’s Bonkers!
This is destined to be some damn tasty chicken!!
Thanks so much! Your recipe was so easy to follow and I so appreciated all the photos and the video so I knew I was doing it correctly every step of the way. Love your site and love this recipe!
This is THE best
Made this exactly as the recipe stated. It was perfect! Well seasoned, crispy, coating wasn’t falling off. My husband said it was great fried chicken (he doesn’t just give praise out without prompting 🙂 )
This will now be my go to fried chicken recipe!
Thank you for making your site so easy to navigate. Recipe printed out great but I found it easier to just follow on your site and activate that cook mode button so it doesn’t go dark lol. Your instructions are great and I am not a wonderful cook and I even I had success with this recipe. You have a new follower in me – thank you! Absolutely LOVE your site and seeing all the recipes you have!!
The First time I tried this technique I received my first compliment for my fried chicken I am 74 yrs old Elder Louis Curtis Hayes