You guys, get ready for some serious indulgence. THE ULTIMATE Southern fried chicken is here. This is simply the best fried chicken you’ll ever make!
We are talking golden super crispy outer and moist and juicy inside. This fried chicken recipe will blow your minds off, and it’s a promise! You definitely have tried fried chicken in your kitchen, but trust me this is unlike the other fried chicken recipe.
What’s great about this Southern fried chicken recipe you ask?
Have you ever made fried chicken recipe where you get golden brown crispy outer, you open it only to find out it’s either raw in the center or you’re in for a disappointment with dry and rubbery chicken inside?!
And you’re outer crumb is not as crispy as you would have loved it to be?!
Your deep fried chicken is great, but the inside it so bland and boring?!
Well, we here you and we are solving all those problems for you. Well, not exactly ‘we’, but it’s Jamie Oliver who’s got the perfect recipe for ultimate southern fried chicken. Yes, that’s right; this is my most favorite chef’s recipe – Jamie Oliver. Jamie is simply the best.
A few months back, I watched one of Jamie’s shows on tv and I knew I was soon trying his recipe for Southern fried chicken. He called it the Ultimate Southern Fried Chicken and that’s exactly what it is.
Let me tell you – this southern fried chicken recipe is lengthy and time consuming. But trust me it’s all worth it. Like Jamie says, this fried chicken recipe is perfect weekend soul food. And you can easily plan it ahead and make a great treat for weekend indulgence.
There are 3 steps involved in making the BEST EVER Southern fried chicken.
Brining
Butter milking
And frying.
Brining? Really?
Yes, really! And you definitely don’t want to miss this step.
This is one extra special step you won’t find it in other recipes for Southern fried chicken recipes on the internet. Jamie recommends you to brine chicken for atleast 6- 12 hours in fridge (depending on the size of the chicken). We went with overnight, 6 hours would do.
What is Brine?
Brine is a heavy concentration solution of salt in water. Water that is strong impregnated with common salt is brine solution. An age old process of preserving food is by simply soaking food like meat and vegetables in salt brine (salt water solution).
Though brine is simple salt concentration water, you might add other ingredients like sugar, spices like pepper corns, and herbs like bay leaf and thyme.
Why Should You Brine Meat?
Brining tenderizes lean meat like chicken and adds more flavors to it, inside-out. Chicken or any other meat like pork, turkey that is immersed in the liquid absorb brine making them moist and juicy. All flavors in the brine will get carried into the meat as well. And when you cook the meat, you get flavor packed, moist and juicy chicken. Cooking meat naturally dries out the liquids from it. When you brine the meat, it store liquids of the brine in it. So when you cook meat, it looses it’s liquids but since there’s more liquids from the brine, it doesn’t turn dry at all. Result – juicy, moist chicken!
Chicken sitting in the brine will soften and enlarge in size soaking up the liquids to an extent. Brining also helps in reducing the cooking time. Poultry and seafood does not need to be brined for longer hours. Denser meat will need 24 hours or more for brining. Brining also depends on the size of the meat. Whole turkey might take up to 24 hours or more than smaller whole chicken which need 12 hours.
Can I Skip Brining Step?
Is brining meat necessary. Why is it so important? Can I simply skip this step?
Well, let’s answer to all those questions.
Poultry in particular benefits greatly from brining. However you cook it, most times poultry meat tends to turn dry and rubbery. Also it’s universally known that poultry is bland naturally.
If you want your poultry to be moist and juicy even after deep frying, have loads of flavors packed in it you don’t want to skip brining.
Jamie and we highly recommend you don’t skip brining even though it’s a lengthy time consuming process.
TIP : If your planning to make southern fried chicken for weekend treat, brine chicken on Friday night, and buttermilk it for few hours in the morning. And you are good to go for a great weekend treat.
It’s all about planning you see.
How To Brine Chicken
Kosher salt and water is all you need to make brine. If you know me well, I love recipes that are all about flavors. So this brine is not just salt and water. Jamie’s brine ingredients are perfect. He uses, salt, water, brown sugar, pepper corns, fresh thyme, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Flavors, flavors, flavors!
Into a large stainless steel pan, add crushed garlic, black pepper corns, bay leaves, fresh thyme, brown sugar, kosher salt. Add 2 cups of boiling hot water into the pan and stir until salt and sugar is dissolved. (if salt does not dissolve easily, you can place the pan on stove and heat it until salt is dissolved completely).
After salt is dissolved, add 2 more cups of room temperature water. Keep it aside until it cools completely.
NOTE – Do not worry about the amount of salt that is added to the brine. The chicken won’t take in all the salt.
If you are worried about fried chicken turning too salty, you can skip adding salt to the flour mix. I added ½ teaspoon salt to the flour mix and to our taste preference, it was perfectly salted. Please taste and adjust as per your taste preference.
For best fried chicken use chicken drumsticks and thighs with skin on.
Score chicken pieces until the bones. Place chicken pieces in brine. Cover the top with grease proof paper or cling film.
Place it in fridge for couple of hours.
NOTE : Usually chicken needs to be brined for 12 hours or more. But since we are using chicken pieces, it should be enough to brine for 6 to 8 hours (over night).
Southern Fried Chicken Recipe Buttermilk
Buttermilk is sour liquid that is left over after butter in churned and removed. You can easily find buttermilk in any super market or can make it at home.
After brining chicken would be hydrated looking plumper. Remove chicken from the brine, shake off any spice sticking to chicken and put it into zip lock bag.
Pour buttermilk into zip lock bags. Coat all chicken pieces well in buttermilk. The acidity in buttermilk will help tenderize chicken, and help with the flavors too. Push air out off the bag and seal the chicken inside zip lock bag.
Place the butter milked chicken in fridge for another 8 hours. I promise you the flavors and the texture of this fried chicken will blow your minds off.
And yes, you can always cheat and make fried chicken by just coating it in flour and frying it. But trust me it won’t taste anything like this.
Plan ahead and make this ultimate Southern fried chicken for ultimate weekend feast. It’s all really worth! Trust me!
Southern Fried Chicken Batter
Everyone has their own secret spice blend to flouring the chicken. Whatever your secret spice mix is use it, just don’t make plain flour coating. We need flavors, flavoring chicken in every stage in important.
Jamie’s secret spice mix is a mix of plain flour, baking powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix everything well.
Remove chicken from buttermilk. Shake off excess liquids and dip in directly in flour mix. Get your fingers in and coat the slit areas around.
Fried Chicken
Heat oil in deep bottomed pan to 350 degree F.
Place chicken in hot oil without overcrowding (fry them in batches) the pan. Toss and cook until golden brown on all sides just for 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove it on to a try baking tray. Arrange all fried chicken on baking tray in one layer. Grab a few thyme leaves; dip in excess oil in the tray and sprinkle all over the chicken for one final aromatic flavor hit.
Place the tray in pre heated oven at 325 degree F. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
Thes result – golden crispy outer skin and moist, juicy, perfectly cooked chicken pieces inside. The chicken almost falls off the bones if you see. I could tear apart the chicken from it’s bone without effort.
Remove crispy southern fried chicken out of oven. Transfer to wire rack. Sprinkle with kosher salt and serve with pickled cabbage and lemon wedges on side.
Best served immediately.
How To Make The Ultimate Southern Fried Chicken Recipe (Step-By-Step Photos)
- Add all ingredients for brine into a pan. Whisk until salt and sugar is completely dissolved. Keep it aside until it cools completely.
2. Place chicken pieces in brine. Cover the top with grease proof paper or cling film. Place it in fridge for 6-8 hours.
3. Remove chicken from the brine put it into zip lock bag. Pour buttermilk into zip lock bags. Coat well, refrigerate.
4. Mix plain flour, baking powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
5. Remove chicken from buttermilk. Shake off excess liquids and dip in directly in flour mix. Get your fingers in and coat the slit areas around.
6. Place chicken in hot oil (350 F)without overcrowding (fry them in batches) the pan. Toss and cook until golden brown on all sides just for few minutes.
7. Remove it on to a try baking tray. Arrange all fried chicken on baking tray in one layer.
8. Grab a few thyme leaves; dip in excess oil in the tray and sprinkle all over the chicken for one final aromatic flavor hit. Place the tray in pre heated oven at 325 degree F. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
9. Remove fried chicken onto wire mesh. Serve immediately with cabbage slaw and mashed potatoes if you like. Do not let fried chicken sit longer, it will turn soggy and loose it’s crispiness. These are best served immediately.
It’s fried goodness that is rich and fatty. What you get is super-moist-fall-off-the-bones-chicken-meat with crispy outer skin. It’s soooo good!
Tips To Make Best Southern Fried Chicken Recipe
DON’T skip any step mentioned in the recipe. Brining, butter milking and coating it with flour.
Score chicken pieces to ensure flavor is added both inside-out.
We recommend you to use vegetable oil or other flavorless oil like canola or peanut oil for deep frying.
Make sure the oil is heated to 350 F before you start frying the chicken.
Do not crowd the pan while deep frying the chicken. Also before adding the next batch of chicken to the pan for frying, bring it back to it’s prefect frying temperature.
LOOKING FOR MORE CHICKEN STARTERS RECIPES? DO CHECK OUT THESE –
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
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Ultimate Southern Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken drum sticks with skin on
- 4 chicken thighs with skin on
- 3 cups buttermilk
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
For the Brine
- 3 tablespoon pepper corns
- Couple of fresh thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 75 grams salt
- 100 grams brown sugar
- 400 ml of boiling hot water
- 400 ml room temperature water
For Flour Mix
- 200 grams plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon pepper
For Garnish
- Kosher salt – to sprinkle
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
Brining
- Into a large stainless steel pan, add crushed garlic, black pepper corns, bay leaves, fresh thyme, brown sugar, kosher salt. Add 2 cups of boiling hot water into the pan and stir until salt and sugar is dissolved. (if salt does not dissolve easily, you can place the pan on stove and heat it until salt is dissolved completely).
- After salt is dissolved, add 2 cups more room temperature water. Keep it aside until it cools completely.
- Score chicken pieces until the bones. Place chicken pieces in brine. Cover the top with grease proof paper or cling film.
- Place it in fridge for 6-8 hours.
Butter Milking
- After brining chicken would be hydrated looking plumper. Remove chicken from the brine, shake off liquids and put it into zip lock bag.
- Pour buttermilk into zip lock bags. Coat all chicken pieces well in buttermilk. The acidity in buttermilk will help tenderize chicken, and help with the flavors. Push air out off the bag and seal the chicken inside zip lock bag.
- Place the butter milked chicken in fridge for another 8 hours.
Coating In Flour
- Jamie’s secret spice mix is a mix of plain flour, baking powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix everything well.
- Remove chicken from buttermilk. Shake off excess liquids and dip in directly in flour mix. Get your fingers in and coat the slit areas around.
Frying Chicken
- Heat oil in deep bottomed pan to 350 degree F.
- Place chicken in hot oil without overcrowding (fry them in batches) the pan. Toss and cook until golden brown on all sides just for few minutes.
- Remove it on to a try baking tray. Arrange all fried chicken on baking tray in one layer. Grab a few thyme leaves; dip in excess oil in the tray and sprinkle all over the chicken for one final aromatic flavor hit.
- Place the tray in pre heated oven at 325 degree F. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken from baking tray onto a wire mesh. Serve immediately with cabbage slaw and mashed potatoes.
- It's best served as soon as it's fried. The longer southern fried chicken sits, it will turn soggy and loose it's crispiness.
Video
Notes
- DON’T skip any step mentioned in the recipe. Brining, butter milking and coating with flour - each step adds to making the BEST fried chicken with perfect crispy outer crust and juiciest moist chicken inside!
- Score chicken pieces to ensure flavor is added both inside-out.
- We recommend you to use vegetable oil or other flavorless oil like canola or peanut oil for deep frying.
- Wait until oil is heated to 350 F before you start frying the chicken.
- Do not crowd the pan while deep frying the chicken.
Danielle Wolter
I bet this is incredible. it may be long and drawn out, but I’m guessing totally worth it. def want to give this a try!
jyothirajesh
It definitely is totally worth it. Trust it
Michelle Cannon
Being raised in the south, I’m quite picky about fried chicken. This recipe is spot on! I’ll have to make it this summer.
jyothirajesh
Glad you liked it
Mahy Elamin
This chicken looks amazing! I will definitely have to try it this way; i need a good fried chicken recipe in my life ?
jyothirajesh
We all do isn’t is?! Haha thanks Mahy. Hope you try it
Priya Srinivasan
Wow jyothi, so well explained, though we dont eat meat,but knowing these steps, we can incorporate those flavors while cooking veggies too. Love how you have writted the reason behind each step in the recipe!
I bet these must be the ultimate fried chicken recipe, a treat for meat lovers!!!
jyothirajesh
It was THE BEST fried chicken I ever made, trust me! So glad you liked the post.
Natalie
Oh wow. This chicken looks really delicious. Look at that crust!!! It’s so crunchy and looks flavorful. I must make this for my boys. They are such a huge fan of fried chicken.
jyothirajesh
My kids loved it too Natalie. I’m sure your boys would love it, do give it a try
Pat Malnar
I remember my mother making fried chicken this way when i was a little girl. The only thing different was the cookinh oil she would save the bacon grease and when dhe had enough of the bacon grease she woulf fry the chicken in it the white part of the chicken would be juicy. When we had family get together she was assigned to cook the chicken. Try it it is really good. I would give it 8 stars, if it was possible.
jyothirajesh
Oh wow, I agree, frying in bacon oil would only make fried chicken so much more flavorful and deeee-licious! Love the idea and thank you so much for sharing your mom’s secret to making fried chicken. I cannot wait to try it.
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
I don’t often eat fried chicken, but this is the crispiest chicken I’ve ever seen! I’m totally craving it right now! Lots of great photos for such a tasty looking recipe!
jyothirajesh
Thank you Leanne
Baguio Restaurants by Mae
A lot of work should be done in this recipe but I bet it is all worth it. I never thought that Brining would play an important role in making this southern fried chicken. Thank you for sharing this recipe and the tips. Will definitely make some of these on weekends.
jyothirajesh
A little planning makes this dish easy to make over the weekend.
Karen (Back Road Journal)
Your chicken looks terrific. Silly me, I brine turkey…why did I not think to brine chicken. Thanks for the inspiration.
jyothirajesh
Happy to hear you loved this recipe. Do try it, it’s super delicious!