🍗 Southern Fried Chicken
Crispy, juicy, deeply seasoned fried chicken with that classic Southern-style crunchy crust.
🛒 Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 kg chicken pieces (legs, thighs, wings work best)
- 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar/lemon, rested 10 min)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
Coating
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch (extra crispiness)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp chili powder (optional)
For frying
- Oil (enough for deep frying)
👨🍳 Instructions
1. Marinate the chicken
- Mix chicken with buttermilk, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (best: overnight)
2. Prepare coating
- In a bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, and all spices
3. Coat chicken
- Remove chicken from marinade (let excess drip off)
- Dredge thoroughly in flour mixture
- Press coating firmly for extra crunch
- For extra crispy crust: dip again in buttermilk, then flour again
4. Fry
- Heat oil to 170–180°C
- Fry chicken in batches (don’t overcrowd)
- Cook 12–18 minutes depending on size
- Turn occasionally for even browning
5. Drain
- Place on wire rack (not paper towel) to keep crust crisp
🍽️ Serve with:
- Mashed potatoes
- Coleslaw
- Biscuits or dinner rolls
- Hot sauce or honey drizzle
🔥 Tips for perfect Southern fried chicken
- Buttermilk tenderizes the meat and adds tang
- Cornstarch = extra crunchy crust
- Don’t fry too hot or outside burns before inside cooks
- Resting chicken after frying keeps it juicy
If you want, I can also give you:
- a KFC-style extra crispy version
- a oven-baked “fried” chicken (healthier)
- or a spicy Nashville hot chicken version
