Best Old Fashioned Southern Fried Chicken Recipes

MOM'S OLD FASHIONED FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a brown paper bag. One by one, coat the chicken parts with mixture.
• In a large skillet, fry the chicken in 1 inch of hot oil until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain the oil.
• Put the chicken back into the pan and cover the pieces with cooking sherry. Cover the pan and reduce to simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve.

CLASSIC SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 200 F and place a rack in a large baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, combine the milk and eggs. Whisk to blend well.
• In a large heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons salt, and pepper. Seal and shake to combine.
• Dip the chicken pieces in the milk and egg mixture and let excess drip off into the bowl. Set already dipped pieces aside on a plate until you have three or four.
• Add the dipped chicken pieces to the bag of seasoned flour.
• Seal the bag and shake well to coat the chicken pieces thoroughly.
• Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
• Heat the oil in a deep, heavy skillet to 350 F. While it's heating up, set aside a large serving plate lined with paper towels.
• Fry the chicken, a few pieces at a time, for about 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Be careful not to put too many chicken pieces in at once-even if they can comfortably fit-since this will dramatically drop the temperature of the oil, affecting the crispness of the final product. Note that chicken breasts will take a little less time than dark meat pieces.
• With a slotted spoon, move the done chicken pieces onto the paper towel-lined platter to drain. Sprinkle immediately with salt.
• Transfer the drained and seasoned chicken to the prepared pan with a rack. Keep warm in the preheated oven while frying subsequent batches. Depending on the size of your pan, this recipe will require about 3 to 4 batches.

SKILLET-FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In shallow dish, mix flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture.
• In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil (1/4 inch) over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil, skin sides down, about 10 minutes or until light brown; reduce heat to low. Turn chicken skin sides up.
• Cook uncovered about 20 minutes, without turning, until juice of chicken is clear when thickest pieces are cut to bone (at least 165°F).

CLASSIC SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine chicken, buttermilk, hot sauce, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a large, non-reactive bowl. Stir until chicken is well coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• Combine flour, 2 teaspoons salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, remaining 1 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.
• Remove chicken from the refrigerator. Working with one piece at a time, remove from the marinade and allow excess to drip off. Coat evenly in the flour mixture, and set on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet.
• Pour oil into a large Dutch oven to a depth of 1 inch. Heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Add a few chicken pieces to the hot oil and cook, turning once or twice, until golden brown on the outside, no longer pink at the bone, and the juices run clear, 10 to 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Maintain the oil temperature around 320 degrees F (160 degrees C) during cooking. Remove chicken to a clean wire rack set over a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Return oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and repeat to fry remaining chicken.
• Serve immediately.

SOUTHERN-STYLE BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk together buttermilk, mustard, salt and pepper, and cayenne in a bowl, and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 8 hours.
• When you are ready to cook the chicken, combine the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and onion powder in the other plastic bag. Shake to mix thoroughly. Transfer one marinated chicken piece at a time into the dry ingredient bag, and shake well to ensure complete coverage. After all chicken pieces are coated, repeat the process by dipping them in the buttermilk marinade and shaking in the dry coating again.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, making sure not to burn the oil. When oil is hot, fry chicken in batches until golden brown and juices run clear, turning chicken to brown evenly.

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and paprika. Roll in flour.
• Add 1/2 to 3/4 inch oil to a large, heavy skillet. Heat to approximately 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Place chicken pieces in hot oil. Cover, and fry until golden, turning once, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

OLD FASHIONED SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Boil the water and add in the sugar and 1 1/2 cup of salt, stirring the mixture until it has dissolved to create a brine.
• Remove from the heat and combine the brine with some ice in a large, food-safe container.
• Place the chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 10 hours and for no longer than 12 hours.
• When ready to cook, fill a large skillet half-way with canola oil and heat to 325 degrees F.
• Fill a brown paper bag with the flour and the 1 teaspoon of salt, fold the top closed and shake the bag to combine the ingredients.
• Fill a large bowl with the buttermilk. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat the pieces dry.
• One by one, dip the chicken pieces into the buttermilk, lift them to drain the excess, then place them in the grocery bag with the flour mixture.
• Fold the bag closed and then shake it to thoroughly coat the chicken with the flour mixture (about 30 seconds).
• Shake the excess flour from the chicken pieces and fry them in the skillet, adjusting the heat of the oil as necessary to maintain it at 325 degrees, turning each over once, until they are done.
• Done should be 155 degrees on the interior for white meat and 165 degrees on the interior for dark meat.