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The Best Fried Chicken

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Fried Chicken is just about the most American food can get. And this here Fried Chicken is about to change your life. 

Folks, I’m talking the most crispy, succulent and knuckle-lickin’ fried chicken on the face of the earth. No annoying, messy, eggy batters or blowing money on buttermilk to brine it in either. We’re talking a simply seasoned water bath for the brine and a sensationally seasoned dry flour coating for the batter. And after it’s deep fried to a gorgeous golden brown? Well, let’s just say you’re going to feel like the best cook on the planet and will not only knock the socks off yourself, but anyone else you serve it to. 

Oh – and this one’s gonna give your Instant Pot a break. But have no fear, it’s so CRAZY EASY, even a chicken could do it! 

Here’s How I Made It! (scroll to the bottom for the fully-written recipe): 

Hey. Wanna make the best, crispiest, juiciest, most flavorful Fried Chicken ever? Well, you’ve come to the right party so let’s get it started! 

In a large (and I mean large) bowl, add cold water… 

…some dill pickle juice right from a jar… 

…seasoned salt…

…Creole, Cajun or Louisiana seasoning…

…cayenne pepper (it won’t be spicy for the sake of the brine)… 

…onion powder… 

…and garlic powder. 

Stir well. 

Now let’s focus on our chicken! Use any parts of chicken that you fancy – be it drumsticks, thighs, breasts or wings! I personally feel dark meat reigns supreme with fried chicken, but whatever you choose, just make sure the bones are in and the skin is on. Those are the rules to the perfect fried chicken! 

Add all of the raw chicken to the brine… 

…making sure it’s fully immersed… 

…and then cover the bowl with a lid and place in the fridge for 8-24 hours. (NOTE: DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! It’s critical to the most amazingly flavorful and juicy chicken). 

When you’re ready to fry the chicken, add the proper amount of canola (preferred) or vegetable oil to a deep fryer (which I always use) or a large Dutch oven or deep stock/soup pot. 

Set the heat until it reaches 375° (this usually takes about 20 minutes for a deep fryer and about 25-40 minutes in a Dutch oven or pot). 

While the oil’s heating, create the Crisping Potion (aka flour batter) by taking another large bowl and adding flour, seasoned salt, Cajun/Creole/Louisiana seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper. 

Whisk together… 

…until fully combined. 

Check your oil with a meat or candy thermometer and make sure it’s between 365°-375°. Once it is (and no sooner), it’s time to fry! 

Take the brined chicken out of the fridge and remove the lid from the bowl… 

Then, piece by piece, take the chicken from the brining bowl… 

…and place in the crisping potion bowl. Make sure you roll that piece of chicken in the batter, making sure it’s tightly packed with the mixture and that every last nook and cranny is coated. 

Go so far as to even coat the flour under the skin if it’s loose. The more battered, the better! 

Be sure to also only coat as many pieces of chicken that you wish to fry immediately. Hold off on coating the rest until you’re ready to fry that batch. 

Place the chicken in a fryer basket if using a deep fryer… 

…and carefully lower the basket into the heated oil where it will begin to immediately fry up. If using a Dutch oven or pot, use tongs to carefully place each piece of chicken in the oil and making sure that only one layer of chicken fills the pot. 

When done, the chicken should be a beautiful, flakey golden brown. To make sure it’s fully cooked, stick the thermometer back in. If it’s above 165°, you’re good to go! If it isn’t, fry for a few moments longer. 

When each batch of chicken is fried, transfer to a paper towel-lined platter and let cool for a few minutes. 

Now take a piece of that gorgeous chicken… 

…crunch into it… 

…marvel out how CRISPY and JUICY it’s going to be… 

…and just like that, you’re a star. Share with friends and loved ones (if you can). And feel free to top it off with some hot sauce, ranch or honey butter!

The Best Fried Chicken
Yield: 6

The Best Fried Chicken

The Best Fried Chicken

It may be bold of a Jewish Yankee (meaning me, not Sandy Koufax) to state this is the crunchiest, tastiest, juiciest, easiest and all-around best fried chicken I've ever had, but I'm gonna say it anyway. The secret is the brine and immersing the chicken in oil in either a deep fryer or deep dutch oven.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 24 minutes
Total Time 29 minutes

Ingredients

The Chicken + Brine:

  • 8 cups cold water
  • 1 cup dill pickle juice (get this from a jar of pickles. Alternatively, if you don’t feel like using it, you can leave it out)
  • 4 tablespoons seasoned salt (I use Lawry’s)
  • 2 tablespoons Creole, Cajun or Louisiana seasoning (I use Tony Chachere‘s. If not using, add an extra 2 tablespoons of seasoned salt)
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (it won’t be spicy as it’s just for brining, but if you don’t want it, leave it out)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 3-5 pounds of any chicken pieces you prefer, skin-on and bone-in a must (I prefer thighs and drumsticks but you can absolutely use wings/drumettes and breasts – whatever you choose, the skin MUST be on the chicken for it to properly cook crisply and juicily)

Crisping Potion:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon seasoned salt (Lawry’s if possible)
  • 1/2 tablespoon Creole (Tony Chachere’s if possible), Cajun or Louisiana seasoning (if not using, use an extra 1/2 tablespoon of seasoned salt instead)
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (it won’t be very spicy once mixed in, I promise – but you can also leave it out)
  • Canola oil (preferred, but vegetable oil works too. The amount will vary based on the frying device you use but generally no less than 3 quarts)

Instructions

NOTE: Be sure to check out the yellow “Jeffrey Sez” section for key tips on this recipe, varied fry time for different parts of chicken, how to discard the oil, suggested items, etc.

  1. Add all the brining ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined. Then, add the chicken and cover with a lid and set in the fridge for 8-24 hours (NOTE: Do NOT skip this step. Trust me. It’s how the chicken becomes loaded with incredible, juicy flavor).
  2. When the chicken is brined and ready to fry, either fill a deep fryer with the oil to the max line (about 3 quarts of oil in a 12-cup capacity fryer) or fill a deep Dutch oven (7 quart size) or large stock/soup pot halfway. Turn the deep fryer temperature to 375° and wait until ready (usually a light will indicate when it is) -OR- set your stove for the Dutch oven/pot at high heat until it hits 365°-375°. (NOTE: I’ve found it easiest and quickest to use a deep fryer for this if you have one – and, if not, you can get one for relatively cheap. But you can also totally use a Dutch oven or stock/soup pot to deep fry in as well. Just get a meat or candy thermometer and make sure the temperature is between 365°-375° before adding the chicken and frying. Whichever you choose, this chicken must be fully submerged in canola oil (or any frying oil of your choice) for it to achieve the spectacular results (no pan frying and flipping!)
  3. Once the oil’s heated, mix together all of the crisping potion ingredients in another large bowl. Take the chicken directly from the brining bowl, place it directly in the crisping potion bowl and roll each piece of chicken in the potion until tightly packed and fully-coated. Get every nook and cranny of the chicken coated with the mixture. However, ONLY coat the amount of chicken you are about to fry at this time. It should be coated ONLY before it is immediately fried.
  4. If using a deep fryer, in batches, add the chicken to the basket in one layer (nothing on top of each other) and carefully submerge into the oil, uncovered, for 12-14 minutes until a deep golden brown coating is achieved. Remove the basket when done and use the thermometer to poke the chicken and make sure the meat’s at least 165°, which means it’s safe to eat. If not, continue to fry until it is (NEVER eat raw/underdone chicken). Then, use tongs to transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined serving dish (NOTE: see yellow “Jeffrey Sez” section). If using a Dutch oven, use tongs to carefully place the chicken in the oil, piece-by-piece, until the pot is filled with one layer of chicken (you’ll do this in batches). Allow to fry for 12-14 minutes, uncovered, until a deep golden brown coating is achieved. Use the thermometer to poke the chicken and make sure it is at least 165° in temperature, which means it’s safe to eat. If not, continue to fry until it is (NEVER eat raw/underdone chicken). When done, use tongs to transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined serving dish (NOTE: see yellow “Jeffrey Sez” section).
  5. Let the chicken cool for 5-10 minutes before eating.
  6. Enjoy with hot sauce, honey butter, ranch or any of your favorite fixins’!

Jeffrey's Tips

IMPORTANT: FRY TIMES CAN VARY BASED ON THE PARTS OF CHICKEN USED. The darker the meat (legs and thighs), the longer the time (breasts cook a little more quickly). That said, all frying methods will slightly vary based on the fryer/pot/stove so ALWAYS make sure you use that thermometer to poke into the chicken before eating to make sure it’s at least 165° (around 12-14 minutes is a solid, good bet). Once at 165°, it’s ready and safe to eat. If the temperature of the chicken meat is NOT at 165° (or looks undercooked for whatever reason), simply continue to fry until it is.

When done frying, allow the oil to fully cool (overnight is best) and then take a funnel and pour it back into the oil container before re-using for later or discarding.

When letting the chicken cool, some like to let it rest on a wire rack with a paper towel under the rack to catch any drippings. This can prevent any softening of the crispy skin from resting/cooling against paper towl-sopped oil.

“Jeff! Can I use my air fryer for this recipe instead?” It’s a lovely thought, but no. Not for this one, folks. The reason being you cannot air fry a dry flour batter. This specific recipe requires the batter to be fully immersed in hot oil so it can seep fully into the batter and fry it to the perfect crispiness. I’ll do an air fryer version one day.

This is the amazing (and affordable) deep fryer I use and can fry about 4 pieces of chicken at a time. If you want a fryer that’s double the size to fry up to 8 pieces at at time, this is the best one to get. If you’d rather fry in a Dutch oven, this one is highly affordable.

This is the heat thermometer I use. It’s perfect and very affordable.

For the seasoned salt, try to get Lawry’s as it’s the best and highly affordable (also available in most markets and in a very large size at Costco).

For the Creole, Cajun or Louisiana seasoning, try to get Tony Chachere‘s as it’s also the best and available in many markets.

I personally think the mix for the crisping potion is perfect, but if you want to cut down on some sodium, shave it down to 1 tablespoon only of seasoned salt OR the Creole seasoning. And you can leave out the other spices if you wish.

Want it super spicy like a Nashville Hot Chicken? Add in 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper to the crisping potion!

If you don’t want to fry all the chicken at once that’s brined, that’s fine! Re-cover it and place back in the fridge for up to another day and finish frying it then!

© Jeffrey
Cuisine: American / Category: Poultry

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Donna Mallmes

    First off Thank you for this site. Absolutely fantastic. My Husband and I have recently purchased a dual crisp + air flyer instant Pot. How can I do this recipe in there?

    Thank you

    Reply

    • Leigh-Anne Gartner

      You can’t. If you read his instructions he states this is a dry batter, that requires oil

      Reply

  4. John Van Alphen

    I made this with my daughter just before Christmas, but made about 8-9 lbs so we could freeze some. I reheated from the fridge in the air fryer and it came out great. Any suggestions on how to reheat directly from the freezer (time & temp).

    Thanks

    Reply

  9. bob timmerman

    I was cool with everything in this recipe except that ugly Auburn shirt… But at least it wasn’t Alabama.

    Reply

    • Lorraine

      You did it again Jeffrey. As I was waiting for a batch to cook I ran out of the house to give my neighbor a piece. I heard, “Oh my god”, “OH MY GOD!” It was that good. I was reading the ingredients of the KFC butter, it is a butter like substance. The honey is some concoction made with sucrose. From now on I will make my own knowing what goes into it. I am a forever fan.

      Reply

  10. Bruce Robertson

    Best fried chicken ever? Not certain but come judgement day it will definitely be getting glances, stuck in the mind as something special!
    Twenty four hours in the brine may have been a bit long, I think I would have been happier with less. My bride had a second thigh, big deal when one is usually considered a meal.

    Reply

  17. Sherry

    I curious if the pickle juice or the cayenne are noticeable in taste? I love my hubby dearly but he is a wimp with hot flavors & he detest pickles. Silly boy! of course I love both & if I can sneak them in on him I’m going to!
    Happy Halloween 👻

    Reply

  18. Mary Patrick

    How long can you store used oil in the refrigerator? I have an old bottle which is solidified but don’t know how to tell if it is still good.

    Reply

  19. Jennifer G

    Oh My Gosh! I’m seriously hooked on this chicken. I went a little lighter on the cayenne my second go-round, mainly because I had very little left but also don’t find the heat necessary. I made this twice now in my Cuisinart TOA-70 air fryer. After dipping in the flour mixture and placing on the air fry basket, I spritzed with olive oil. First time, I cooked on the lower level (1) at 350 deg for 15 min, flipped and then another 15. This time, I went up to 400 for 15 minutes each side. Perfecto! The flavor is amazing. And it’s so tender and juicy. Love the pickle brine. Thank you!

    Reply

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