How to Make The Best Fried Chicken

In Indiana kitchens, chicken pieces are seasoned with salt and plenty of black pepper, dunked in a light coating of flour, and then cooked in bubbling lard. The result is fried chicken that is crisp (not craggy) in texture on the outside, super-juicy on the inside, and uniquely savory.

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[mabdub]

This lard method is exactly how grandma used to fry chicken but she used an old black cast iron fry pan. A Dutch Oven pot makes so much more sense in terms of safety. Thanks for the video.

[Wells]

Where has Christy been all of my life?! Between this and the butter burger recipe from Milwaukee last week, I'm going to stay warm this winter. Thank you!

[Highlanddragon]

Looks like my mom's but she would get the chicken out of the freezer put in into a bowl of salt water in the fridge so it would brine while it thawed when it was time to cook she mixed flour salt garlic powder and seasoned salt in a gallon freezer bag threw the chicken in then dropped in the hot grease let it cook while making mashed taters, gravy made with the flour she put on the chicken and a veggie usually green beans my favorite. I make my fried chicken the same way it's my oldest niece and nephew's favorite.

[martaaberg]

This is how I was taught to make fried chicken. No batter, just a light coating of seasoned flour. I switched back to lard after the AHA come out with their announcement several years ago about how wrong they were to recommend shortening and other hydrogenated fats instead of lard and butter. Very low key announcement in which they essentially admitted they, in large part, caused the heart disease epidemic. I don't do the water dip, though.

[TammyD]

Lifelong Hoosier here and this is very similar to how I make my fried chicken. I use milk instead of water and also season my flour. Otherwise, it’s the same and my family loves it!

[jordansiqueido]

Please continue to implement cooking tips with Lard. Q:What's Eating Dan? A: The price of Vegetable oil. Lard science makes things crisper in fry, and more tender in Baking. When i was a Porter, I couldn't believe how the Vegetable oil would harden on the frier heating coils, and forming and impossible film on my vents. Turns out that Vegetable oil becomes a plastic when you heat it (DAN!) I took a second look at Lard and Tallow when i listened to Nina Tiecholtz talk about "the big.. FAT.. lie."
Love you ATK you've been a part of my life for over 20 years, and I don't miss anything you guys do! ❤

[martycranford]

Born and raised in Alabama. I have eaten my share of fried chicken. The best fried chicken is chicken that is seasoned ONLY with salt and pepper. Lightly coated with flour without any egg wash or thick batter that just falls off and burns in the bottom of the skillet during cooking. This recipe is truly the best example of how to properly fry chicken. Don't complicate it. My grandmother and her mother and her mother before that used salt and pepper. Why? That's all they had. No Dano's, No Tony's, No whatever, just salt and pepper. Thank you for posting this video!

[chrisperdue]

I made this yesterday. It was truly exceptional in flavor and texture; the crust was incredible. Thank you for this recipe.

[polarbear]

She is absolutely right about using lard. My mother cooked with lard with just about everything. She would julienne potatoes and fry them in lard with her cast iron pan. They always had a beautiful crisp brown coating and were absolutely delicious. Did the same thing with hash browns and taco shells. Her fried chicken turned out just like you two made and it was never dry.

[wolfetom]

Followed this recipe exactly -- same quantity of chicken and oil (though I could not get lard and had to use peanut oil), same cast iron dutch oven, thermapen to keep temp in the right range, and my chicken still cooked much faster and got much darker and crunchier than in the video. Dark and crunchy is not what I wanted. I was looking for mom's fried chicken from my childhood. Light golden brown, with a tender flakey crust, and bursting with juices. Following this recipe exactly (except for the oil) and getting okay but not great results proved to me something I already suspected. Making great fried chicken is about instinct and experience. Being able to tell from the sizzle whether the oil is hot enough, knowing when to turn it and when to take it out. Nothing can replace that. And since I will never cook fried chicken as often as my mother did (2-3 times a month for 50+ years) I will never acquire the skills needed to make consistently great fried chicken.

[chris-]

I have never ever cooked fried chicken but watching this has given me knowledge and confidence to know what Im doing in the preparation

[ejohnson]

I think I would add seasoning to my flour to make it extra tasty!

[pteddie]

Thanks for a great recipe. It was fun watching you two and I can't wait to cook this.

[lasandralucas]

Brilliant recipe. This was how my mom and dad used to cook fried chicken back in the day. Thanks for being it back.

[billie]

Tons of good information here. Im the type of person who needs details and why some things are certain ways. America's test kitchen is the best place to go to get this. You both work well together also. Oh i also love the end when you recap everything. ❤

[paulafigueiredo]

In Portugal we do use lard for many savory dishes. 😋😋
We also use a mix of lard and olive oil.
Thanks for posting the recipe

[chinncannon]

Don't waste your seasonings! Always season on a sheet tray or in a dish so you can roll the chicken around in the seasonings and not leave half behind😉

[tbell]

I just bought a deep fat fryer. This is a perfect recipe for that! Thanks much.

[Lori-lpuc]

I fry chicken like my mom. Preheat oven to 360°. Pour flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika to a paper bag(or plastic bag). You can also just use Seasoning Salt. It has the same ingredients. Shake to combine ingredients together. Dip chicken in a milk/egg mixture, put into flour bag one piece at a time. Shake until chicken is thoroughly dusted. Place aside until lard is hot. Fry. 4 minutes on each side. Place fried chicken onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Close/seal foil around chicken. Bake for 35 minutes. Perfect every time. Crispy and delicious.
The bag makes clean-up so much easier. Just toss it in the trash

[tiacho]

My friend Jay's mother grew up Cajun in Louisiana. Her opinion is that lard is not just the appropriate fat for frying chicken but the ONLY choice. I make her chicken recipe a couple times a year because Lipitor and Zantac can only do so much.