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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Southern
Keyword: fried chicken, KFC chicken recipe, southern fried chicken
Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

  • Large bowl
  • wire rack
  • Cast iron mini wok/fryer or heavy bottomed skillet for frying

Ingredients

  • 6 skin-on chicken drumsticks

Buttermilk Marinade

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper or less, to reduce heat

Flour Dredge

  • 11/2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional, to taste

Frying

  • 4 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

Score and marinate the chicken

  • Whisk the buttermilk, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl until evenly mixed and the salt dissolves. Pour into a ziplock bag. Add the chicken into the marinade and turn as needed to coat. Press out excess air and seal. Refrigerate for 3 - 24 hours, flipping occasionally to redistribute the marinade and coat the chicken evenly.

Flour dredge

  • Pour the chicken and marinade into a bowl.
  • Whisk together the all the flour dredge ingredients in a large bowl. Add about 3 tablespoon of the chicken marinade and work into the flour with your fingertips to form a coarse meal - this forms the extra craggy crust.
  • Pick up a piece of marinate, shake to remove excess marinade and then drop into the flour mixture. Tossing in the flour to coat. Press each chicken drumstick with a little of the flour mixture in your hands to make sure that each piece is thickly coated. Repeat for the remaining pieces.

Cook the chicken

  • Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Heat the oil in a cast iron wok or heavy bottomed pan until the temperature reaches 425°F.
  • After shaking off any excess flour mixture, put a chicken drumstick into the oil one piece at a time. The oil temperature will drop as you add the chicken but needs to stay at about 300°F so adjust the heat and limit the number of chicken pieces being cooked at a time as needed. I fry about 2-3 drumsticks at a time. Carefully fry one side for about 6 minutes and then using tongs, flip and fry the second side for about 3 minutes. Do not handle the chicken any more than absolutely necessary to avoid scraping off the coating.
  • Transfer the chicken to a wire rack set on a baking sheet and place into the oven. Bake until an instant read thermometer reads about 165°F for thighs. (If you are using breast meat the target temperature is 150°F).
  • Season with salt and serve immediately.

Second fry for extra crispy fried chicken

  • Once baked, place the fried chicken in the fridge for at least an hour or up to overnight.. For optimal results, allow the chicken to come to room temperature before frying. Reheat the oil to 400°F and fry again - this time about 2-3 minutes each side, flipping only once to avoid damaging the crust. Once done place each piece of fried chicken on a wire rack to drain.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

The breaded chicken can be frozen for up to 3 days before frying.  Just let the drumsticks come down to room temperature before frying.