Southern Fried Chicken

By Becky Jo

Southern fried chicken can certainly be challenging - it just takes practice to be honest! If you're new to frying chicken, try frying only dark or white meat your first time. I also like to brine the chicken first - it really helps to keep the breast meat nice & tender.

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 pounds of chicken (white, dark, mixed), cut into 8 or 10 pieces
• 1 heaping tablespoon of kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, or to taste, optional
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 2 cups of self rising flour
• Canola oil, for frying

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 360mins
Cooking time 375mins
Adapted from deepsouthdish.com

Preparation

Step 1

Add the chicken to a large Ziploc bag. Whisk a heaping tablespoon of salt into a near gallon of water and pour water over chicken. Seal well and place the bag into a bowl (in case of leaks) and refrigerate for about 6 hours, or overnight. Drain the chicken, pat dry with paper towels, and arrange on a large plate or baking sheet; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, two or three if you have time. Set up a dipping station with one medium sized bowl for the egg and milk mixture, a second medium sized bowl for the flour and a large plate or platter to hold the breaded chicken. Whip the egg and milk together. Dip the seasoned chicken into the egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Then coat the chicken with flour, gently shake off excess and transfer to a large platter. Set aside. Fill a 12 inch or larger cast iron skillet about halfway with canola oil and using a deep fryer thermometer, heat oil over medium high heat until it reaches around 360 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, the oil is generally ready when a pinch of flour tossed in sizzles. Very carefully slide the pieces of chicken in, one at a time, and skin side down, slowly laying it into the hot oil. Remember, you are working with extremely hot oil on a fire here, so take care not to allow the oil to overflow as you add pieces, since the oil will rise with each piece you add. Also, don't overcrowd the pan - you'll only want to fry about 4 or 5 pieces of chicken at a time. Cook on the first side about 8 minutes, trying to keep the oil at about 300 degrees F by regulating the temperature up or down; turn and cook another 6 minutes or until golden brown and juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Adjust time as needed depending on cuts used and their size. Drain on a paper bag or a rack over paper towels. Hold the first batch in a low oven while you finish the next batch. Serve immediately.