Chicken Fried Chicken anyone? We’re showing you how to make this favorite comfort food right at home. You’ll thank us after your first bite.
Chicken Fried Chicken ranks right up there with Classic Fried Chicken as a family favorite comfort food and for good reason. It has a crispy, salty crust and a tender, juicy interior. Then it gets even better because we top it with gravy. This is not a light lunch-type meal. It sticks to ya in the best type of way.
What Kind Of Chicken Do I Need?
Typically, chicken breasts are used for chicken fried chicken but we used thighs in this recipe for two reasons.
Reason number one, the dark meat yields a juicier chicken – and it’s also harder to over-cook and dry out. Reason number two, the uneven surface area of a chicken thigh means there are a lot more spots for the flour to stick to and that is a good thing. More flour = more crispy bites.
Serving Chicken Fried Chicken
Traditionally, Chicken Fried Chicken is served with mashed potatoes which benefits from the delicious white gravy, sometimes with green beans as well. But because this meal is so rich, a mustardy coleslaw and pickles would also be a great side.
And if you’ve got any leftovers? Fried chicken sandwiches are always a good idea.
Print
Chicken Fried Chicken
Chicken Fried Chicken anyone? We’re showing you how to make this favorite comfort food right at home. You’ll thank us after your first bite.
- Prep Time: 4 hours, 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Oil for frying (like canola, vegetable, or peanut)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. salt + some for sprinkling
Gravy
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
Fried Chicken
- Combine chicken and buttermilk together in a bowl. Let sit in refrigerator for at least four hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Take chicken out of refrigerator at least a half hour before cooking.
- Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. You want it to be about 1 inch deep.
- Preheat oven to 250F. Put a metal oven-safe rack on a baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a clean large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the salt.
- Dredge a chicken piece through flour mixture so that it is lightly coated in flour. Shake off excess. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with all pieces of chicken.
- Put some of the chicken pieces in the oil. Don’t crowd the pan. Fry for about 4-5 minutes, then flip over and fry for another 4-5 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. (Larger pieces will take longer.)
- Remove chicken from oil and rest on the metal rack. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Transfer rack with baking sheet below it to the warm oven for the chicken to stay warm while frying remaining chicken in batches.
- When done frying chicken, keep it warm in the oven while making the gravy.
Gravy
- Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the frying oil and put it in a small sauce pan. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour. Put over medium heat.
- Whisk together until smooth and golden in color. Pour in milk slowly while continuously whisking.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Let thicken, about 1-2 minutes, and remove from heat.
- Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more if desired but note that it will taste a little bland on its own, but is perfect on the chicken so be careful to not over-salt.
- Arrange chicken on plates and top with gravy.
This post originally appeared in April 2019 and was revised and republished in June 2022.
Leave a Reply