Best Crispy Southern Fried Chicken Recipes

CRISPY SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• BEAT together egg, water and 1/4 cup oil in large bowl. Add sugar, salt and flour. Mix until smooth.
• HEAT remaining 1 1/2 cups oil to 360 degrees F in deep skillet. Dip chicken pieces, one piece at a time, into batter. Fry 20 to 30 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork (165 degrees F). Turn chicken often for even browning.

CRISPY SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. In large plastic container, dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in about 2 cups water. Remove skin from chicken pieces (optional) and place in container. Add more water if necessary to cover chicken. Place lid on container and place in refrigerator for about 1 hour.
• 2. Pour milk into a bowl. Add egg and beat with fork till fairly smooth and set aside. In another bowl add flour, seasonings and soup base. Mix well with fork. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, then dip in milk and egg mixture. Roll in flour mixture.
• 3. In a large deep iron skillet add oil to about 1" deep. Heat oil to about 375 degrees and add chicken pieces. You must do this in batches of about two pieces of chicken at a time, so as not to overcrowd your pan. Cook chicken about 7 to 8 minutes per side or until juices run clear. Transfer chicken pieces to serving platter. You may also use a deep fryer set at about 350 degrees. Add only a couple of pieces at a time and cook for about 15 minutes or until juices run clear.
• 4. ALTERNATE METHOD: Heat oven to about 400 degrees. In cast iron skillet, brown chicken pieces in hot oil. Transfer chicken pieces to a broiler pan coated well with cooking spray and bake for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove from oven and transfer to serving platter.
• 5. Chicken soup base is a moist powder. It's available in the soup/bullion aisle in most grocery stores and it is relatively inexpensive.

CRISPY SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl beat the eggs and add the chicken to coat.
• In another large bowl with a lid, mix together the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, pepper and accent seasoning.
• Preheat oil to 375°F I would recommend using a thermometer to monitor the temperature - temperature is important. A clip-on candy/deep-fry thermometer should be kept in the pot at all times, so that you can monitor the temperature accurately.
• Add the chicken to the flour mixture and place the lid on the bowl. Shake the bowl vigorously to coat the chicken.
• Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before frying. You can preheat your oil at this time.
• When the oil has reached 375° F carefully add the chicken to the oil. Try not to overcrowd, the temperature of the oil will drop but you don't want it to drop below 300°F Keep it at 300° F to 325° F while the chicken fries.
• Fry chicken for 8-12 minutes each side, turning the chicken over half way through (ensure chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165° F when using an instant read thermometer).
• Drain the chicken on paper towels. You can place in a 170° F oven to keep the chicken warm if you have more chicken to fry.
• When frying more chicken let the oil get back up to 375° F again.

MAW MAW'S CRISPY SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat to 350 degrees.
• In a medium size bowl whisk the egg yolks, add in the buttermilk, and one half of the seasoning salt. Whisk to combine.
• In a large bowl sift in the flour and baking soda. Add in the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, paprika, black pepper and the other half of the seasoning salt. Stir to combine.
• Rinse your chicken and pat the chicken pieces with paper towels until they are completely dry.
• Coat each piece of chicken with the flour, then dip in the egg wash, then back in the flour making sure to pat the flour somewhat firmly into each piece.
• Add each piece of chicken to the hot oil as you bread them. Breasts usually take around 11 minutes while wings, drumsticks and thighs take 6-7 minutes. Once the outer crust is dark golden brown (not dark brown) and the internal temperature is between 160-170 the chicken is done and ready to enjoy!
• Note: Do not over crowd the pan. This will reduce the oil temperature and cause for oily chicken. Cook about 4 pieces at a time and as you remove a piece, bread another one and add it in the oil. Do not bread them all and leave them all to sit out on the counter -- bread then as you are ready to fry.