Meg's Pan-Fried Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my fried chicken get crispy? ›

If your oil temp is too high, your fried chicken will be scorched on the outside with meat that is undercooked. If the oil is too cool, your chicken will be greasy and will lack the golden-brown crispy exterior you want.

Chicken breasts must be at room temperature before going in the pan as cold chicken can cook unevenly and tends to be tough. Allow the chicken breast to sit out for 20 minutes. That should do the trick. One of my favorite pieces of kitchen gear is a cast iron pan.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan then add the chicken breasts (skin-side down, if they have skin) and cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned. Then turn over, cover and cook on the other side for 7-8 minutes or until cooked through.

It helps flavor the meat. When brining a chicken, you allow the taste of the solution to penetrate through the surface and penetrate the deeper recesses of the chicken with flavor. It means the flesh is already flavorful without breading. It helps keep the meat moist.

Then dip the chicken back into the flour mixture. Allow the battered chicken to sit for about 10 minutes before dropping into the hot grease to fry. This should be a standard when battering anything to fry.

When paired with all-purpose flour, cornstarch helps prevent gluten development, which makes the flour coating crispier, and absorb moisture (from the frying and the chicken), which also means a crispier coating. If you already have a favorite fried chicken recipe, try replacing a quarter of the flour with cornstarch.

After testing endless thickness and doneness combinations at countless temperatures, we concluded that the best temperature for pan-seared chicken is 375ºF / 190ºC, or "medium" on your stovetop.

We recommend marinating your chicken in buttermilk or yogurt overnight, but if it's urgent, then an hour will do. However, the texture of the chicken won't be as even as chicken marinated overnight. The process is simple: you only have to immerse the chicken in a container with enough yogurt or buttermilk and seal it.

This helps render the fat and water from the chicken for a crisp crust and evenly cooked meat.

If you put too many chicken pieces in the pan at once, the temperature of the oil will drop, and the chicken won't get crispy. You want to make sure that you have enough space in the pan for the chicken pieces to cook evenly. Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to fry the chicken in batches.

What makes fried chicken taste so good? ›

It's all about that crunch

Done properly, deep-frying creates a satisfying contrast between the crispy-crunchy coating and tender chicken. Beyond that simple textural enjoyment, the crispness actually sends our brain a message that the food itself is in good condition.

KFC deep fries its chicken for 15 minutes and then drains the oil off for another five minutes – 20 minutes in total. If you don't have a deep fryer, heat up plenty of oil in a large saucepan and do it that way.