Southern Fried Chicken

Name: Southern Fried Chicken
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 whole (about 3-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces; 2 cups buttermilk; 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce; 2 teaspoons kosher salt (for marinade); 2 cups all-purpose flour; ¼ cup cornstarch; 2 teaspoons kosher salt (for dredge); 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper; oil for frying

Coastal Mains

Southern Fried Chicken

Print Recipe

The Strategy:

We can’t talk about things with wings without mentioning fried chicken. This specific technique is the absolute secret to achieving impossibly crispy, deeply seasoned chicken without the stress of an undercooked center.

By heavily marinating the meat in acidic, spicy buttermilk, we tenderize it completely. The real trick, however, is adding cornstarch to the flour dredge and allowing it to rest on a wire rack before it hits the hot oil. This ensures the crust adheres flawlessly. We only shallow-fry the chicken in a heavy cast-iron skillet to achieve that shattering, golden-brown crust, and then we immediately transfer it to a hot oven to gently finish cooking the interior perfectly.

Serves: 4 | Total Time: 30 minutes till it’s ready, plus marinating for at least 4 hours (or do this the day before)

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade

1 whole (about 3-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt (for marinade)

For the flour dredge and frying

2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons kosher salt (for dredge)
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
oil for frying

Ingredients arranged: a whole raw chicken cut into pieces, a glass pitcher of thick buttermilk, a bottle of bright red hot pepper sauce, a shallow bowl of white flour and cornstarch, kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and a heavy black cast-iron skillet around a marble prep board.

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

Cut the 2 breast pieces in half so they are about the same size as the thigh pieces, making 10 pieces of chicken.
Whisk together the buttermilk and hot pepper sauce in a large bowl.
Submerge the chicken pieces in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.

Bread and fry chicken

Stir together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper in a shallow bowl or pie pan.
Dredge a piece of chicken in the flour. Shake off excess and lay on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken pieces are coated.
Let the chicken rest on the rack for 10 to 15 minutes. This will help the coating stick.
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Pour enough vegetable or peanut oil to come 1/3 up the sides of a deep sauté pan or cast iron skillet.
Heat the oil to 350°, using a candy thermometer to measure the temperature.
Add several pieces of chicken to the hot oil, making sure not to crowd the pan. Cook on one side until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook until golden on all sides, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the chicken back to the rack.
Once you’ve fried all the chicken, place the baking sheet into the oven and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Close-up action shot of a cook's hand using metal tongs to carefully lift a shattering, deeply golden-brown piece of fried chicken out of a bubbling, hot oil bath in a black cast-iron skillet.

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The Heart of the Table

Serving homemade fried chicken is an undeniable act of love. It is deeply comforting, inherently communal, and commands the center of the table. When you bring a massive platter of shattering, hot, golden-brown fried chicken out to your guests, all formality vanishes. It invites people to use their hands, to laugh loudly, and to linger over the meal for hours.

8 guests gathered around the table laughing, eating, and drinking chilled Champagne in flutes in a Palm Beach Estate dining patio with ocean views. A massive, beautiful wooden board stacked high with golden Fried Chicken anchors the center of the joyful, relaxed Sunday gathering.

Neighborly Grace

THE PRESENTATION: Do not hide this in a bowl. Stack the impossibly golden, crispy chicken pieces high on a large, flat, weathered wooden board or a vintage silver platter lined with stark white parchment paper. Serve it alongside small ceramic bowls of hot honey and sharp, vinegary hot sauce for dipping.
THE POUR: The shattering crust and rich fat of fried chicken demands bubbles. An ice-cold, bone-dry Champagne or a crisp French Crémant is the ultimate, high-low pairing that instantly elevates the entire meal. If you prefer still wine, a very cold, high-acid Chablis is magnificent.
THE VIBE: Effortlessly elevated Southern comfort. This is the meal you prepare for a long, lazy Sunday afternoon on the porch, where the sound of the ocean is the only backdrop you need.

Chef’s Recommendations

Cornbread, Obviously: Skillet Cornbread & Cinnamon Butter
The Other Fried Thing: Big Battered Onion Rings with Horseradish Sauce
The Greens on the Plate: Sautéed Collard Greens with Fresh Ginger
The Sweet at the End: Cherry Walnut Crumble Cake

The Estate Table

Build tonight’s menu around this dish.

✦ Set the Table

Southern Fried Chicken

Southern Fried Chicken

The full recipe lives in the Vault

The Heart of the Table

Neighborly Grace

✨ The Gilded Swaps