Chicken fried chicken is all about that extra-crispy crust. Skinless chicken breasts are double-dipped, fried until golden, and topped with creamy white country gravy. With just a bit of prep and quick frying, you get a comforting, crunchy, Southern classic that feels like something special without too much fuss.
Chicken Fried Chicken With Buttermilk Is a Southern Tradition
The key to the crispiest chicken when cooking skinless chicken breasts, is double dipping the chicken in a flour mixture that contains cornstarch and baking powder. This mixture coats the chicken and helps soak up the buttermilk to get super tender chicken with a crispy coating.
Since the chicken doesn’t have skin like traditional buttermilk fried chicken, you need to double-coat it and let it chill to keep the coating on the chicken.
Chicken fried chicken seems a bit redundant, right? Well, the name actually comes from chicken fried steak, which is where the technique came from. Both are homestyle recipes that are great afor weeknight dinners.
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Like chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken has no bones or skin, making it a bit of a challenge to get a crispy coating. After some trial and error, I found that adding cornstarch and double dipping was the key.
This is the perfect recipe to use if you’re making chicken biscuits. It is phenomenal on a tall and flaky buttermilk biscuit, even better if you add a little gravy. Chick-fil-A can’t hold a candle to these.
Just like with fried chicken, in the South, chicken fried chicken will be served with white country gravy with a hint of cayenne.
The gravy is so easy to make, you’ll be wondering why you aren’t adding it to everything! It’s just butter, all-purpose flour, milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. It doesn’t use any drippings and whips up in about 5 minutes.
My mother-in-law always served fried chicken with creamy mashed potatoes and sweet skillet apples and the same goes for chicken fried chicken.
Fall In Love with This Fried Chicken Recipe
- Southern: If you want a taste of down-home Southern cooking, you’ll want to make this recipe.
- Crispy: Double-coating the chicken gives it the crispiest outer layer without being greasy.
- Easy: With a few simple steps, you can make the easiest fried chicken at home.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
For the full list of ingredients, make sure to check out the recipe card below.
- Chicken breasts: These are pounded thin to form cutlets.
- Buttermilk: The acid in the buttermilk helps tenderize the chicken, keeping it juicy. If you don’t have any, you can make buttermilk from scratch with 2 ingredients!
- Cornstarch: while most fried chicken relies on simply flour for the coating, since there’s no skin coat, you need cornstarch to give it a crispy coating.
- Oil: You’ll need a neutral-flavored oil that has a high smoke point, like vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. Don’t use olive oil, as it will burn when heated too high.
Making the Best Chicken Fried Chicken with Buttermilk
Step One: Marinate the Chicken
Let the chicken sit in the marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step Two: Dredge the Chicken
Step Three: Fry the Chicken
Step Four: Make the Gravy
Make a roux with butter and flour, then whisk in milk and spices until it thickens into a smooth, creamy sauce.
Don’t Miss These Troubleshooting Tips
- Oil: If your oil is too hot, it will start smoking and burn. This can cause your chicken to have a burnt taste. On the other hand, if the oil is not hot enough, the coating will slide off the chicken. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil before frying the chicken for best results.
- Cook: Let the chicken cook in the oil until it is golden brown on one side, then flip. Don’t constantly flip your chicken back and forth, as it could result in uneven cooking and the coating can come off.
- Thick chicken: If you have super thick breasts, you can slice them in half horizontally into two even slices. Then, pound those with a meat mallet until they’re thin enough for dredging and frying.
- Batches: Fry the chicken in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan.
Keeping Leftovers Fresh and Bringing Them Back to Life
Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to enjoy them again, reheat the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven for 5 minutes or until the chicken is hot and crispy again. Avoid using a microwave if you want to keep the crispy coating.
Chop up the leftover chicken and add it to your eggs for a flavorful breakfast scramble or layer it between Southern buttermilk biscuits!
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Southern Chicken Fried Chicken with Gravy
Ingredients
Brine
- 4 chicken breasts skinless and boneless
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
Coating
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 ¼ cups cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Gravy
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Gently pound the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap so that it is ¼ inch thick.
- Add buttermilk, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to a ziplock bag and add chicken. Seal and refrigerate overnight or for at least an hour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
- Remove one piece of chicken at a time and add to the flour mixture, turn to coat and press flour mixture so that it coats the chicken. Place it on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken and refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes. Save the remaining flour mixture for later.
- Place a clean rack on a rimmed baking sheet and place a paper towel on one side of it.
- Heat the oil in an iron skillet over medium-high, heating to 375º. Try to keep the oil between 325º and 350º, it will cool down when the chicken is added.
- Take one chicken breast at a time and return it to the flour mixture, coating both sides. Carefully place two chicken breasts in the hot oil and cook for 3-5 minutes. Use tongs to flip and cook an additional 3-5 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160º. Remove to the paper towel covered rack, turning after a few seconds so that it drains on both sides then remove to the other side of the rack. Continue cooking until all are cooked.
Gravy
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk whisking constantly until there are no lumps and it begins to thicken, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add salt, pepper and cayenne. If it is too thick, add a little more milk.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- Don’t over crowd the skillet, make the chicken in batches.
- Try to keep the temperature of the oil consistent.
Nutrition
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