This classic southern fried chicken recipe combines juicy, flavorful chicken on the inside with a crispy crust on the outside. It will soon become your favorite chicken recipe. 

I love fried chicken, but I have never been very good at making it. It never wanted to get done or it was too done. Never an in-between. Plus, it always makes a massive mess. I am not a neat cook by any stretch of the imagination and frying food? Well, it makes a big mess to say the least.

Fried chicken is like the quintessential Southern food. There are things like cornbread and buttermilk biscuits. But if you are thinking fried chicken, you’re definitely thinking about delicious, home cooked, southern food.

While frying anything does tend to make a massive mess in my kitchen, this fried chicken recipe is beyond worth it. It’s cheaper than that takeout stuff (that doesn’t taste that great anyway), and it’s really not that difficult to make. I’ve also found a way to keep the grease splatter down to a minimum… use less oil (sometimes it takes me a while to learn new things haha).

This fried chicken is brimming with flavor and you’ll be so, so glad you went ahead and made it. I always double dip my chicken, letting it rest before I add it to the pan of oil. The extra dip in the flour and spice mix just makes it that much crispier. Letting it sit before adding it to the oil allows it to get back up to room temp and not cool down the oil too much. This allows the chicken to cook more evenly and throughly.

You must, must make fried chicken in a cast iron skillet. It results in the best fried chicken you’ll ever taste. The other skillets won’t heat as evenly and your chicken won’t be as good. So, spring for a cast iron skillet like this one if you don’t already have one.

Another thing that makes fried chicken delicious is draining it on a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Not on paper towels. Why? If you put fried foods on paper towels, they get soggy. If you let them drain on a wire rack over a cookie sheet, the air can get to them and the grease goes below the food so it can’t get soggy from sitting in the moisture.

Yield: 8 pieces

Crispy Southern Fried Chicken

This southern fried chicken recipe is bursting with flavorful, juicy chicken coated in a crispy, flavorful crust. 

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Ingredients

• 1 Whole Chicken, Cut Up into 8 Pieces
• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
• 2 Eggs
• Oil for Frying (I use lard)

Instructions

1. Mix together your sea salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a small bowl.
2. Combine the buttermilk, eggs, and a couple pinches of the seasoning mix into a large dish that can hold all of your chicken together.
3. Allow the chicken to marinate for about 4 to 6 hours, or overnight
4. Combine flour and the rest of your seasoning mix together.
5. Place oil into cast iron skillet. Turn heat on medium low and heat to 375 degrees while you prepare your chicken. 
6. Remove your chicken pieces, one at a time, from the buttermilk mixture and dredge in the flour mixture until very well coated.
7. Place chicken, two to three pieces at a time, into the hot oil. Cook until well browned on each side, turning every 10 to 20 minutes until cooked through and juices run clear.
8. Drain chicken on wire racks fitted over cookie sheets.

Notes

Any cooking oil will work, I personally use lard. Use what you have and what works for you. Frying the chicken in a cast iron skillet is always the best.

Do you enjoy your fried chicken crispy?

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• Chicken & Noodles
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