Updated on June 24th, 2022
Southern fried chicken is an American favorite. Here is how to make fried chicken at home with a deep fryer. I know I always enjoy getting a big bucket of KFC and this is just as good if not better. The chicken pieces are first seasoned, then dipped in a hot sauce/egg mixture and then breaded with flour, baking powder, and salt. Don’t let the amount of hot sauce scare you, it’s actually is not very spicy at all. I used Tabasco sauce myself. Feel free to add any additional spices to the flour mixture. A deep fryer for a very deep pot is required for frying. If you don’t want to use the whole cut up chickens, this would also be perfect for chicken strips! This fried chicken comes out perfectly crispy and delicious. Enjoy.
(Makes 4 Servings)
PrintSouthern Fried Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2lbs cut up chicken
- Oil (for frying)
- Seasoning-
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- Sauce-
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup hot sauce
- Breading-
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat eggs and water. Add hot sauce and whisk together.
- In a small bowl combine ground black pepper, salt, and garlic powder. In another bowl or pie plate combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Pat dry chicken pieces with a paper towel. Sprinkle chicken pieces generously on both sides with the seasoning mixture.
- Dip chicken pieces into the hot sauce mixture and coat thoroughly. One piece at a time, roll chicken pieces in the flour mixture and drop into the deep fryer. Don’t overload the deep fryer with chicken.
- Fry chicken until brown and crisp (dark meat will take about 14 minutes, white meat about 10 minutes). A good way to tell if it’s done is to pierce the deepest part of the bone with a fork, if the juices run clear, it’s done.
- Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all chicken is fried.
As a healthier alternative to deep frying, I often “oven fry” chicken. You can achieve the golden crispiness of fried chicken if you put a sheet pan in your oven and get it as hot as possible.
Then, when you put your chicken (breaded or not) onto the pan, you’ll have the direct heat benefits of saute, along with the roasting benefits of the high oven.
Chef Todd Mohr
I appreciate the recipe,it looks good!! I have no problems,out of Cakes,Pastry,cookies,or just about anything else,but I always loved fried chicken,and when I was 12 years old,I could do it lovely,but after about 20 something,I lost it?? Now,every time I try,it turns out bloody,and most say,start hot,lower fire,and cook longer,which brings,grea–s–ey,but done.Now I will try yours.I have sorta went around it,for years now.Thanks,Jim
Looks yummy! And perfectly crispy.
Do you think I can bake it, instead of frying it?
I would never say no to Southern Fried Chicken!
Looks perfectly crispy and delicious!
These look like the ones from a really nice restaurant! I admire all your pictures, too!
looks yummy!!!! i dont want any hot sauce at all. wat can i substitute with?
sarah – if you dont want any hot sauce, I would recommend just leaving it out.
I made this today, but using strips of chicken breast. Instead of deep frying I shallow fried the chicken in batches. I also added a little paprika to the seasoning. Turned out lovely!
> much better, if you will put some bread crumbs for the crispiness of the chicken.
Hi Bobby ! Maybe my name is familiar to you from the comments on your Chinese Lemon Chicken post. Your blog has been a blast to read and learn to cook. I just wanted to ask, in this Southern Chicken Recipe, I noticed you left the chicken skin on when coating it. Does leaving the skin on make the chicken much more crunchy?
Mohan- yes, it does. I feel as though the skin is very important in fried chicken and I would not recommend removing it.
Could yo add some chilli powder and turmeric to the breading mixture or would it ruin it?
Craig- Yes, you could add those ingredients to the breading mixture, I think it would be delicious!
Bobby, how much is a cup of hot sauce? in the uk you can only buy 57ml bottles of tobasco sauce. How many should i use?
Craig- according to Google 1 cup = 236ml, so about 4.