Southern friends, you are my idol. I think the south does food like no one’s business. Especially fried food, in particular southern fried chicken. It’s crunchy on the outside, and juicy divine chicken underneath. This fried chicken is our absolute favorite and totally irresistible. And just wait until you see what I do with it tomorrow. Mwaahahahahaha. Ehem, anyway southern food is a favorite around here, like our smoked beans, southern cheese crackers, and southern corn bread (which is the best corn bread EVER.
Growing up in a home with a dad from Oregon and a mom from Idaho fried chicken wasn’t really ever made. But that does’t mean we didn’t eat it. Looking back this is really quite ridiculous and a little embarrassing to admit, but whenever we went out and had a picnic we would get fried chicken from… well, from KFC. There, I said it. Oh gosh, lol it’s kind of funny if you think about it. I mean, my mom cooked all of our meals and we practically never ate out, but then we go on a picnic and we take a bucket of fried chicken. Bahahaha.
Oh man, I love that we at least did picnics. Yes, they take a little more work and eating on a blanket may not be as convenient as a table, but trust me your kids will love it. It’s an important part about growing up. There’s something wonderful about relaxing in the warm sunshine with delicious food, and this time you don’t have to run to KFC, I’ll give you a fool proof, easy fried chicken recipe that everyone will be begging for more and the seasoning is so delicious you’ll be licking your fingers. All we do is is set the chicken in salt water for thirty minutes to make it more juicy and flavorful (we figured, if it works for Thanksgiving turkey it must work for fried chicken!), then do a double dip in egg and flour (because one time just didn’t make them crunchy enough and everyone needs extra crunchy yumminess) and then fry. Once the breasts are done, remove from the oil and sprinkle with season salt, we use Real Season Salt. Oh, and we usually use peanut oil as it has a higher burning point and I think it tastes more authentic, but you can use canola if you need to.
Southern Fried Chicken
Southern Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
- 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 2 Cups of Water
- 1 Tablespoon of Salt
- 2 Cups of Flour
- Pinch of Pepper and salt
- 2 Extra Large Eggs
- Season Salt
- Peanut Oil for frying
Directions:
- In a large bowl add the water and salt, stir together until it begins to dissolve and then add the chicken.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and pat dry.
- In a large pot, or dutch oven fill 1/3 the way full with oil and heat to almost medium high heat, about 325 to 350 degrees.
- Place the eggs in one dish, and whisk slightly.
- Add the flour to another dish and add a pinch or two of salt and pepper, then stir to combine.
- Place 2 paper towels on a plate and set aside.
- Meanwhile dip the chicken in the egg on both sides, then dredge in the flour on both sides.
- Repeat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chicken, cooking only 1 or 2 at a time.
- Cook until lightly golden on one side, about 5 to 8 minutes per side, flip over and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove to the paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with seasoned salt on both sides.
- Tent with a little foil and let rest for a few minutes (3-5 is fine) to redistribute juices.
Enjoy
The salt brine is used in many thanksgiving turkey recipes to help create a juicy bird, the same technique works great with fried chicken to keep the insides juicy and tender even though it’s being fried in hot oil. If you don’t have a full hour to let the breasts brine at least shoot for 30 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 4 pieces of fried chicken, Serving Size: 1
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 594 Calories
- Total Fat: 10.4g
- Cholesterol: 302.7mg
- Carbohydrates: 47.9g
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Sugar: 0.3g
- Protein: 71.2g
Honey Roasted Chicken
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Saw this on CopyKat and it says better than KFC. Not a great endorsement IMHO. KFC are closing stores faster than you can say 11 herbs and spice. I tried your version and it was really good. We don’t fry much boneless, skinless chicken here in the Deep South but this recipe changed my mind. For those who have trouble getting the breading to stick to the chicken, place it in the freezer for 15 min then go direct to the hot oil. I like to fry my chicken at 375 degrees.
Oh how interesting. It’s definitely not at all a KFC copycat recipe, but it is definitely delicious!
Can you brine it overnight?
Ours tend to get too salty overnight, but if you try it let me know.
I love fried chicken but don’t usually make it myself. This one looks really easy so I think I will give it a try. Thanks
Hope you love it!
And also try letting the chicken sit in buttermilk for 15 minutes instead of using eggs, then dip in the flour. Makes tender crispy chicken:-) Love your recipes.
Love that idea! Thank you so much!
I’m not good with fried chicken, but I’m sure going to try this one
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I must try the brine thing …I’m finding that a lot of meat recipes call for this, so there must be something to it. I’m a southern gal myself and I find that depending on what part of the south your from there are a lot of different recipes as well as techniques to many of the same foods… such as BBQ, chicken, slaw esc. so to me there is no wrong way to fix these dishes..my grandmother used to say …when the day comes that she cant learn something new is the day she needs to hang up her apron…and I agree with her we never get to old to learn new things.
I love what your Grandmother used to say and I couldn’t agree more! I just wish we lived in the south so we could learn even more!
Sounds delish! I rarely fry foods cus it never turns out 🙁 however, I’ll give this a shot. The hubby loves fried chicken! What do you mean by double dipping in egg and flour?
I know, frying is so tricky! You double dip by dipping the chicken in each mixture once and then going back and doing it a second time. So yummy!
Great thanks. That was obvious to me but I wasn’t sure if the flour mixture would come off dipping it again in the egg, wanted to make sure there wasn’t a different method. I’ve got a cast iron pan and will be trying it tonight. Looking forward to it!
It does come off a little. I wish I had some cool secret to do it, but this is the only way I know how. 🙁
After flouring the chicken place it on a pie cooling rack and let air dry to 10 minutes and then flour again. Makes it better!
John, I cannot wait to try that! Thank you for leaving the tip!
You don’t actually have the direction to double dip in the recipe…
How odd! I wonder why “repeat” disappeared but thank you so much for letting us know! It’s been fixed now.
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Your fried chicken recipe looks as southern as any other I’ve come across. When I was cosiderbly younger (20) I would have certainly tried your recipe. Now that I’m considerably older (63) all I can do is add it to my collection. I have high blood pressure so. I make my own seasoning mixes to be sure there’s no salt. Sprinkling the seasoning on after cooking is something I will try.
I look forward to using your recipe for Southern Fried Chicken. The honey roasted chicken looks absolutely perfect too! I am from the Good Ole’ South, I have never heard of the brine thing, except for turkey, smart move! Sorry for the rude comments of my fellow Southerners. In the South there is no wrong way! And to let you in on a secret, I DO NOT dredge my chicken. I rinse and pat dry the chicken, then I place the chicken pieces in a large freezer bag full of my seasoned flour and shake. I remove the chicken and let sit on scott towels and shake again. Then fry in an iron skillet. Sometimes I deep fry for the color and bake 350 for 1 hr to finish. I am glad I found your recipes!! Thanks
Sweet Basil,
You said that if we had a recipe that we wanted to share that we could send it to you. My fried chicken recipe is like a hit and miss. The one that I got from my grandmother, she never measured anything as far as the seasoning. So I had to come up with my own measuring for it. I little dab of this, little dab of that, and if I like the chicken, then what is what I fixed. How would you write out a recipe with the measurements on something like that?
I like that your recipe has room to add seasonings of choice. I have been cooking for 40 years and I’m still trying and learning new things.I will be trying your recipe soon.Thanks for posting it!
On another note,I would like to commend you on how graceful and polite you respond to some of your not so graceful and polite comments….just like a true southern gal should!
I wish I had 40 years of experience behind me. I bet you have a ton you could teach me! Feel free to email me a good recipe any time!
And thank you for the compliment. I really do try to keep things positive and kind. I hope I never let myself down about that.
I like that your recipe is simple and has room for adding any seasoning of choice. I have been cooking for 40 years and I’m still trying and learning new recipes all the time! I will be trying your recipe soon. Thanks so much for posting.
On another note,I would like to commend you on how graceful and polite you respond to some of your not so graceful and polite comments….just like a true southern gal should!
To Amber, I don’t know what part of the south you are from, if you ARE from the south, but my grandmother was born and raised in Waycross, GA. SHE was taught to dredge her chicken in egg first, and it was handed down to her from Her grandmother which was also born and raised in Georgia. This recipe that I use, you dredge your chicken in egg first,(bone in or boneless, doesn’t matter which you use) and then put into the flour. It was just the spices that I was question about. I use my own spices for my SOUTHERN chicken and fry in a cast iron skillet. Sometimes I cook mine in a deep fat fryer and it turns out juicier than pan frying. it. My dad was born and raised in NJ and said his mother never dredge hers in egg but milk. He loved the southern way better.
Kathy, I wish I could spend more time in the south and just sample all of these different ways to cook. You are so lucky to have all of that deliciousness in your family!
While the salt brine and seasonings are on point, as a Southern cook, I have to say that this is not really authentic Southern fried chicken at all.
No self-respecting Southern cook would ever fry chicken with anything but bone-in pieces of chicken. Also, in the South, we do not dredge our chicken in egg before flouring. In fact, it’s pretty much unheard of. We simply remove the chicken from the brine, shake off the excess water, and place it in a brown paper bag with plenty of seasoned flour. Shake until it’s thoroughly coated and fry on ONLY a cast iron skillet.
I’m not knocking your recipe in the least, it sounds delicious, but unfortunately, there is very little about it that can be called Southern style.
Thanks for the feedback, Amber. I guess it all just depends on where you’re from. My husband is from South Carolina and loves it and totally considers it authentic. I’m sure every southern family has their method. This one is for a double dipping so there has to be an egg to help the second dip stick. I totally agree about the cast iron pan though. I get slammed with too many comments when I only put that since so many people seem to not own a cast iron. Which is pure craziness! Cast irons are the best to cook in! I’ll have to put it just for authenticity sometime. I’d love to try your recipe sometime. 🙂
Many award winning Southern chefs use egg wash. Just because you don’t use this method does not exclude it from being Southern. My wife and I have had Southern fried Chicken in about every State. We agree, the best Southern fried chicken we ever tasted was in Saratoga Springs, NY. It has nothing to do where you were born or where you live. And yes, we live in the Deep South!
Oh, NY huh? I wish I could head out there to try it!
Nothing more Southern than fried chicken. I featured it on my Friday Five – Southern addition over @ Feed Your Soul Too – http://www.feedyoursoul2.com/2013/08/friday-five-southern-addition.html
Thank you so much!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! We ALL loved it! Yummy, yummy chicken!
My Grandmother put her chicken in buttermilk and salt over night. It helps breakdown any tuff chicken pieces and tastes out of this world, sweet and juicy!
I really don’t see how this can be better than KFC. There is no seasoning in this and seems to me to be tastless. I have been cooking for 40 yrs and have never seen such a more plane recipe than this for fried chicken.
Hi Kowthy, I bet you have a ton of wonderful recipes if you’ve been cooking for so long. Please feel free to share any favorites 😉 Maybe you missed it, but the chicken actually sits in a salt bath which helps to tenderize and flavor the actual meat, then the flour has salt and pepper and season salt is all over the finished product. It’s wonderful and if my southern husband loves it I’m sure you will too. Have a good day!
Looks good but can’t believe it would taste that good without some seasoning.
I put mine on a rack in a low oven 200 degres that way the crust stays crunchy
while iam cooking the rest of it a trick i learned in tennessee
That’s a great tip!
Oh my goodness this chicken looks absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!
Southern Fried Chicken is amazing isn’t it! Yours looks wonderful!
Can’t go wrong with fried chicken! This looks perfect 🙂
I’m always afraid to attempt fried chicken at home, but I had an AMAZING version in Memphis that rocked my socks so I’m ready to give it a go. This looks awesome.
Thank you for the opportunity!
Seriously, come on who doesn’t like fried chicken??? No hands, see everyone loves fried chicken! Please send me some of this!
Come have some when you’re in town!
Made this tonight and It’s gotta be the best fried chicken I made.. and so basic. Everyone loved it!
My dear, I have had the craziest day and your sweet comment totally just made my night. MWAH!!!!
I so totally love your blog! I will be reading it at work and writing down recipes! I am so glad that I actually go the chance to enter into this giveaway, I always see that your giving stuff away but never get the chance to do it.. Oh by the way I made the cookies and cream brownies the other day and it was devoured almost immediately!
OMG I love this!
Fantastic chicken. I’m sure it’s so much better than KFC.
This looks delicious! Must. Make. Soon.
and if you’re smart you’ll slap it on a donut 😉
My boyfriend has already requested that I make this for him!
YAY!! I’m so glad. Lmk what you think!
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Carrian, this chicken looks outrageously good! It’s one of my favorite comfort foods and your killer recipe and photos are making me yeaarrrnnn for an indulgence!
That seriously makes my day. Thank you!!
Holy yum! Will you bring me some for dinner??
ok, Annalise I so miss you. When can we meet up? Next week work?
This looks crazy goooooood!
maybe I need this for lunch…..
Can I come over for dinner?!
Is there anything better than fried chicken? So good. (And I’m almost out of that Real Salt you gave me, I need more!)
The crust on your fried chicken looks fried to perfection!!! Of course since I’m southern, I love me some fried chicken!!!
YES! I have been waiting for this ever since you posted the doughnuts. Ohhhh man do I love me some fried chicken.
Now, this is some delicious looking chicken! Dang girl! And thanks for the link love!
Holy wow, that chicken and what an amazing giveaway!! Fun!
So – my husband still loves KFC and when he gets to choose where we go to eat, that’s what he usually chooses. But I totally am going to make this for him because I know it’s got to be so much better!!
it’s waaaaay better. I cross my heart promise! I do like KFC’s biscuits though 😉
Yes! These look so perfect it is insane. I am gonna go a head and call you a master fryer. Those chicken looks perfectly cooked! YUM!
ohhhh I like that!
WOW! I am so impressed! I have never tried making homemade fried chicken before, but this looks amazing!
it’s so easy! Do it! You’ll totally have to run it off later with all of that fried goodness, but it’s worth it
This looks absolutely incredible! Want!!
thanks, Marie!
Oh my goooooodnesss!! This looks just like juicy fried chicken perfection right there!!!!! I WAAAAANT
thank you!! I seriously love this chicken!
Oh, hello, beautiful chicken. Why yes, I would like to take a big bite out of you.
yeah, get it girl 😉
Oh my gosh this chicken is speaking to me. It’s juicy looking and I love a good breaded crust.
It spoke to me multiple times which is why I need a good workout today! yeash!