What’s your favorite meal? I’m pretty sure mine is dark meat fried chicken with a banana sandwich. Only on real fresh soft white bread. Only Duke’s mayonnaise. There’s just something about these paired together. The crispy saltiness of the juicy chicken with bites of the creamy softness of the banana sandwich! With a glass of very cold milk!
I also love some local honey drizzled over my fried chicken… or in a little cup for dip’n. And when I zip through a Chick-Fil-A… I always get a packet of honey for drizzling over my sandwich there too!
I’ve always meant to put my fried chicken method here, but never slowed down to do that, until now.
A couple of months ago, an old friend messaged me and said she’d never fried chicken and asked for my advice.
I thought I saw a post where you told how you cooked fried chicken, but can’t find it now. Believe it or not I’ve only tried making it one time in my life and let’s just say it wasn’t too good. If you have it on a post somewhere let me know. Or if you can tell me how to bread it, how long to cook, I’d greatly appreciate it. You’re my go to person for cooking! ~Teresa Pulley
So I sent her a note back of how I fry chicken. I asked Teresa to let me know how it turned out and if she and Frankie liked it.
Oh my goodness, she posted the nicest review on her facebook page with a yummy picture and others chimed in. And the picture she shared was as good as it gets! It made us all want to stop what we were doing and fry chicken. So I knew it was time to share here how I fry my chicken.
It came out perfect!!!! Thank you. Fixed fried okra, corn pudding, fresh green beans, and seven-layered salad, to go with it. Frankie ended up cooking it in peanut oil in fry daddy and another fryer outside. Your instructions were spot on. We served it to another couple for lunch, they loved it. Ran into another set of friends here at beach and they had cold leftovers for supper and loved it. Said it tasted just like his mother’s.
We brined it using brown sugar. We did get 3 lb chicken from a local butcher here at Ocean Isle Beach. And we used meat thermometer to check for doneness. Only thing we did differently is we fried it in our Fry Daddy instead of our cast iron pan.
Now I’ve tried frying chicken every which way I’ve seen over the years. Pinterest and the internet is full of “the best fried chicken” recipes and how tos. I’ve probably tried them all at some point. Yet, I always come right back home to this!
Personally, I don’t like fried chicken that has a thick crust. For me, more ain’t always better. So if that’s what you’re looking for, my method isn’t what you want. I prefer a lighter fry, thin like glass and crispy fried in good oil… not globs of crust that fall off when you bite it or near’bout hurt the inside of your mouth when biting into it because it’s so “rugged.”
For those that live in my vicinity, you just cannot beat fried chicken from Parker’s BBQ restaurant in Wilson, NC! That’s MY go to place for fried chicken. I wish I could go there and just order a big ole pile of fried chicken skin. Fried Chicken perfection! Of course they have bbq chicken, bbq and their own unique slaw…. the only slaw with celery seed in it I eat.
Along with their “red potatoes” and brunswick stew. Their stew is too twangy and acidic for me, BUT, I get “double stew” as my side and put a little bit of sugar into it from one of the packets on the table… stir in, and enjoy it that way… cutting that acidity a bit. Other than that, just give me some white bread! Like the banana sandwich, fried chicken just needs some white bread for grease absorption from the properly cooked fried chicken!
When passing thru Parker’s area, I usually stop for a “chicken bag.” I’m a dark meat gal, so I’ll get 2 legs and a thigh! Legs and bread are easier to eat when driving than a messy burger! Thighs are my favorite and bit more of a challenge, so I eat that in the parking lot, then fix the rest on my dash and off we go usually to or from the beach. I’ll get my Rufus 1/2 order of chicken livers… that’s like a LOT of them in just half and order!
Before he got “grown,” I had many dates with my nephew Wyatt who loves Parker’s too! He said… “this chicken is so goooood once you bite it you can’t stop till you’re about to bust!”
So, here’s what I sent Teresa. It’s more of a process than a recipe.
How I fry chicken is pretty simple (this looks like long directions but really isn’t)…
The key to good fried chicken is the oil.
As for how long… no way to give you a time as that will vary piece by piece depending on size.
Invest in an inexpensive thermometer if you don’t have one… I use mine all the time, especially with chicken… most folks overcook chicken because they are afraid it won’t be done, so they cook it too long “just to be sure.” Then it’s ruined, especially white meat, because it’s cooked TOO long. A thermometer will keep that from happening. You can get a decent digital meat thermometer on Amazon starting about $10. Needs to cook to 165 probed in the thickest part and not touching a bone since bone will get hotter than the meat and give a false reading.
When shopping, look for smaller pieces instead of the gargantuan chickens we too often see. AND, look for chicken that hasn’t had a lot of skin removed. That’s the gold… the crispy crunchy fatty skin! It’s criminal these days the way they “trim” that tasty skin and good fat from steaks too!
I like to brine my chicken first. It makes it more plump and juicy. I don’t always think ahead to do that, but my chicken is better when I do, for frying and grilling too.
Simple brine recipe:
about 4 cups water
1/4 cup salt (sea salt or kosher preferred)
1/4 cup sugar or brown sugar (this will not make the chicken sweet)
I put the salt and sugar in a bowl deep enough to hold chicken…
get tap water hot and run a cup or two into the salt/sugar and whisk to dissolve…
then add cold tap water or even ice cubes.
Let the chicken sit in the brine… minimum of an hour but several or overnight is even better.
Drain and pat dry.
When ready to cook, take out of fridge for a while and let the chill come off the chicken. It will cook more evenly and not take as long either. If I forget, to speed up, I run a bowl of hot tap water and let the chicken sit in that for a short time to take the chill off inside and out.
I don’t like thick batters like some… so i don’t use anything like buttermilk that causes that IMO. Some use buttermilk as a brine. That’s fine, just not my preference.
I lightly wet chicken pieces with water and throw in a gallon ziplock bag of flour with salt and pepper. I also love cajun seasoning so I sometimes add a good amount of that too. Just know that will cause your fried chicken to be darker.
Shake good then lay in something like a colander or on cake rack to rest while heating oil. This will help flour adhere better for that yummy crispy skin.
Best to use cast iron skillet for a more even heat distribution, but others like a deep fryer will do too. I keep a dedicated one with oil in it inside my extra oven so it’s always there for frying things and don’t have to do every time i want to fry… I use it a few times before it either needs tossing or straining (i use coffee filter and use again and add more oil to it as needed till it’s too “dirty” to use). Keeping a dedicated frying pan makes frying chicken or other stuff less pain in the ass… (just not fish or seafood unless you are about to change to new oil)
Fry on medium heat for 10 mins or so in fully heated oil (if not, you’ll have soggy skin chicken), in oil deep enough to submerge chicken pieces at least halfway into the oil… 1 1/2″ at least… (or enough to fully submerge).
I never ever look at the time so I have no idea how long… and that will vary also depending on size of pieces and white (cooks faster) or dark. I rely on my thermometer. I turn when nicely browned (about 10 minutes or so) and repeat… may have to flip again for a bit… that’s when you want to use that thermometer.
Take out at 165 and let drain in colander so any excess oil will drip off… don’t cover because if you do when draining this will cause you to lose the “crispy” as the heat will “steam” and make it soft.
My favorite fried chicken is at Parker’s. I asked them years ago what kind of oil they use and was told cottonseed. So for a long time, I would order that from Amazon… and had about 6 folks who started using it too… there were times they’d deliver 5 or 6 cases of those jugs to me at the time to disperse! lol It started getting real expensive so now I only use peanut oil. That really is a key to good fried chicken. Also, peanut oil has a high smoke point to keep your chicken and fried foods from burning.
Also, don’t buy big pieces or big whole chickens if you cut up yourself. Just not good for frying… I think that covers everything but if not, just ask! Happy to help…
I’d love to know how you fry chicken. Be sure to leave a comment below or jump over to find this post on my Facebook page and comment there!
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- “I think it’s fun to serve comfort food because it’s an instant ice-breaker. If somebody’s expecting fancy food, and you whip out some fried chicken, they feel like, you know, they can put their elbows on the table, and the etiquette police aren’t going to come out.” – Katie Lee
