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Fried chicken can be so easy to buy these days, but it doesnโt hold a candle to honest-to-goodness, mouthwatering, homemade fried chicken. If youโve never made it yourself, then it might be time to scratch it off your bucket list and get frying. This classic recipe is the real deal with a golden, crunchy buttermilk batter that tastes great hot or cold.
Megganโs notes
The ultimate summer picnic food, fried chicken is beloved by all who eat it. This recipe is for two chickens, because you want there to be leftovers, you really, really do. Make one for the party and save the second for a midnight snack after the kids are in bed.
Table of Contents
Homemade Fried Chicken Ingredients
- Oil: Choose an oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.
- Flour: Dredge the chicken pieces in buttermilk between layers of flour, then pinch the flour and buttermilk mixture together to create an extra crunchy coating.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Buttermilk:ย Toย make your own buttermilk, in a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice into 2 cups of milk. Let stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Chicken:ย This recipe uses a whole raw chicken (cut apart into breasts, thighs, legs, and wings). Or, substitute 8 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces of your choice.
How to Make Crispy Fried Chicken
- In a large pot, Dutch oven, or deep fryer, bring 2 inches of oil to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons salt, and 2 tablespoons pepper until combined. - In a second large bowl, add buttermilk. Set next to bowl with flour mixture.
- Starting with chicken breast and, working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in buttermilk, tap on the side of the bowl lightly to remove excess, and return to flour mixture.
- Firmly and thoroughly press and pinch flour mixture on to chicken (the chicken must be well-coated for the best possible crunch). Place in hot oil.
- Repeat with remaining chicken pieces and place in hot oil in this order: breast, thighs, legs, wings. There should be 8 pieces of chicken in hot oil.ย
- Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer expires, use an internal thermometer to check the temperature of the breast (it should be 165 degrees or higher).
- Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Best Oil for Fried Chicken
I recommend using a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable oil, peanut oil, or canola oil.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Storage
How long can fried chicken sit out?
Fried chicken can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 hours. This is the same time as other highly-perishable foods including all other poultry, meat, and dairy. If the temperature is over 90 degrees, though, it should only sit out for up to 1 hour.
How long does fried chicken last in the fridge?
Store leftover fried chicken covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The temperature of the refrigerator should be 40 degrees or lower.
Can you freeze fried chicken?
Yes, you can certainly freeze fried chicken from a food safety and preservation perspective. However, the thawing process may reduce the overall crispiness of your chicken.
- Cool the chicken completely.
- To freeze all the chicken together, pack it into freezer-safe containers. To freeze the pieces individually, place them (not touching) on a baking tray or plate and place in the freezer. Freeze until all pieces are individually frozen solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container.
- Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. The chicken is still safe to eat after 3 months, but there will be a loss in quality over time.
How to reheat fried chicken
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then, reheat until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Air fryer: Reheat at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Oven: Reheat at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Microwave: Reheat individual pieces as needed starting with 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Homemade Fried Chicken FAQs
You can get a butcher to cut your chicken up into 8-10 pieces, but if you want to tackle the job yourself, here are the steps to butchering your own bird:
1. Extend a leg from the body and slice through the skin to expose the legโs interior.
2. With force, bend the leg back from the body until the ball joint pops free from the socket.
3. Cut the leg from the body, through the joint, as close as possible to the backbone. Repeat with the other leg.
4. In order to separate the drumstick and thigh, look for the line of fat between themโit marks the location of the joint you need to cut through.
5. In order to cut away the breast meat, with poultry shears, cut through the ribs and collarbone on both sides to remove the back and neck in one piece (discard this or save this for stock).
6. Turn over the breast, skin side down and begin to split the breast from the neck end just until the knife hits the breast bone, then score down the length of the bone.
7. With your thumbs on either side of the bone, bend the breast backward until the top of the bone pokes out. With your fingers, loosen and pull the bone free. Finish up by splitting the breast in half by cutting where the bone was.
8. Trim off the first wing joint and then cut the remaining wing from the breast with some of the breast meat attached.
9. If you prefer smaller breast pieces, cut the remaining breast in half to get two breast pieces of relatively equal size. Repeat with the other side of the breast.
A lot of folks swear by using buttermilk to soak the chicken in overnight, which can tenderize the meat with its acidity. If youโd like to try it, hereโs how to marinate chicken in buttermilk:
1. Arrange chicken pieces in a glass baking dish, then pour 4 cups of buttermilk over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Refrigerate for 1-24 hours. Drain the chicken, then proceed with the recipe as written.
If you donโt have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own buttermilk by pouring 1 cup of full-fat milk into a bowl. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice or plain white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes to curdle and thicken.
Brining has become really popular, and if youโd like to brine your chicken before frying, hereโs what to do to brine the chicken before frying:
1. Pour 2 cups cold water into a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and add ยผ cup sugar, 2 tbsp. salt, 1 bay leaf, ยฝ teaspoon black peppercorns, and ยฝ teaspoon coriander seeds. Allow to cool completely.
2. Arrange chicken pieces in a glass baking dish, then pour over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
3. Drain the chicken and remove spices, then proceed with the recipe as written.
Plan on using enough to fill a large skillet about โ to ยฝ full with oil.
At first, try to press the batter firmly onto the pieces of the chicken. When cooking, itโs also important not to reduce the heat when frying, and allow the oil to come back up to proper temperature between batches. When the oil gets too cool, the breading can fall off the chicken. And no one wants that!
If you donโt have an electric deep fryer, I recommend a Dutch oven, an electric fry skillet, a heavy cast iron pan with high edges, or a large, deep saucepan.
If your goal is hot fried chicken, try putting the cooked chicken immediately in a 275 degree oven on a rack over a cookie sheet uncovered. That allows the grease to drip off while keeping the chicken warm and moist.
A couple tricks for less mess and easier cleanup:
1. Make your flour mixture in a zip-top plastic bag, and use the bag to coat your chicken pieces. Then dip them in the buttermilk and put them back in the bag; this might make things a little easier.
2. Line your stovetop with aluminum foil for less spatter and easy cleanup when the frying is done.
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Buttermilk Fried Chicken Recipe
Ingredientsย
- Oil for frying
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups buttermilk (see note 1)
- 1 (4- to 5-pound) whole chicken cut into 8 pieces and giblets removed and discarded (see note 2)
Instructionsย
- In a large pot, Dutch oven, or deep fryer, bring 2 inches of oil to 325 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons salt, and 2 tablespoons pepper until combined.
- In a second large bowl, add buttermilk. Set next to bowl with flour mixture.
- Starting with chicken breast and working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in buttermilk, tap on the side of the bowl lightly to remove excess, and return to flour mixture.
- Firmly and thoroughly press and pinch flour mixture on to chicken (the chicken must be well-coated for the best possible crunch). Place in hot oil.
- Repeat with remaining chicken pieces and place in hot oil in this order: breast, thighs, legs, wings. There should be 8 pieces of chicken in hot oil.ย
- Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer expires, use an internal thermometer to check the temperature of the breast (it should be 165 degrees or higher).
- Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Buttermilk:ย Toย make your own buttermilk, in a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons lemon juice into 2 cups of milk. Let stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Chicken: This recipe uses a whole raw chicken (cut apart into breasts, thighs, legs, and wings). Or, substitute 8 pieces of bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces of your choice.
Meggan,
Thanks for the clarification. Iโm going to make this on Sunday for an early dinner. My kids are a tad bit excited!
Is the salt content correct? We love fried chickenโฆ. my kids LOVE it!
is the only salt in the coating? I wonder if I could use quite a bit less?
sorry, didnโt mean to post this twiceโฆ. I didnโt see my first one when I looked.
No worries, Iโm behind on answering comments so sorry about that! I left a reply to your original question and deleted the duplicate. If you donโt see it let me know! Thanks Juli!
Hi Juli, not exactly, but itโs still pretty bad. The entire label was messed up in general. It was pulling in 2 cups of chicken gravy instead of the chicken pieces, and frozen buttermilk waffles instead of buttermilk. Iโm SO SORRY. The label as it is now is correct and reflects 5 tablespoons of salt in the flour mixture. Hereโs a breakdown of how the sodium changes if you reduce the amount in the recipe:
5 tbsp (original recipe): 4659.7mg โ 194%
4 tbsp: 3787.7mg โ 158%
3 tbsp: 2915.6mg โ 121%
2 tbsp: 2043.6mg โ 85%
1 tbsp: 1171.5mg โ 49%
0 tbsp: 2995.mg โ 12%
I hope this is helpful! Sorry for the delay in my reply. If you need anything else, just let me know. Thanks Juli!