89 Reviews of Perfect Southern Fried Chicken

From: Pot Scrubber

On Oct 30, 2006

I can make fried chicken! I have never made fried chicken before and these mother cluckers are good! Great technique and I followed it exactly. I cooked covered for 10 minutes and then I uncovered and set my timer and turned them exactly every five minutes cooking all four sides evenly. They were amazingly moist. I am so pleased. I added 1 tbsp of sugar to the brine and double battered them. I also used my electric skillet so I could monitor the oil temp closely. I had to turn the heat to 350 after the first five minutes though, I guess my new skillet runs a little hot. I honestly can not remember enjoying fried chicken this much.

From: LAURIE

On Feb 10, 2003

Fried chicken is my all time favorite and now so is this recipe!! TY PanNan....I did 6 large breasts and had to cook in 2 batches, but was well worth the time. Mine took almost 45 minutes to cook but was at least done thru. Thanx for the hint about covering. Worked like a charm then uncovered and cooked slow until nice and crispy! Wonder chicken!

From: Seashorewalker

On May 14, 2007

This was very good but I agree with others that the cornmeal creates a bit of a gritty texture. I made it exactly as the recipe states except I used Seasoned Salt which has a great flavor for chicken. Instead of the cornmeal I usually use Panko which you can find in the oriental area of the grocery store. Use about 3/4 cup of in place of 2 TBS cornmeal. There is no gritty texture with panko and the chicken ends up nice and crispy. Also, I have better results with the breading sticking better and frying crispier on the chicken with less buttermilk. I would use 1/2 cup instead and an extra egg.

From: Andi of Longmeadow Farm

On Feb 16, 2007

This particular recipe is well written, uses items on hand, and is obviously tried and true. The seasonings are right on, (although~I added a couple drops of Tabasco sauce to the buttermilk mixture)and the crust was delicious. Inside~just as good as the outside was extremely juicy and moist. I used a very large "dutch oven" type pot to cook chicken in, more like a deep fry. Just before it was completely finished, I pulled the chicken out of the grease, and let it bake last 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven, suspended on a rack with a pan underneath. Great recipe! Thanks!

From: Cream Puff

On Feb 23, 2005

YUM! I followed the recipe exactly, only using Emeril's Original Essence in place of the Season-All. The chicken really DID turn out "perfect" - juicy, tender, and done to the bone. Thanks so much, PanNan!!

From: riffraff

On Jun 1, 2003

Very close to being better than my mother's (who, by the way, makes the best fried chicken in the world). I followed the directions exactly, but only used one egg. The crust was light, crunchy and wonderful. The chicken was perfectly done near the bone. Great tip girl!

From: Amber.S

On Jan 22, 2006

Very good recipe. We very much enjoyed the end result and I did not find the cooking as difficult as I thought it would be. Living in a small town in scotland I was unable to find Season-All Salt, so found out what was roughly in it and made my own which worked very well. 3 tbsp Salt 2 tbsp Sugar 1 1/2 tbsp Garlic Granules 1 tbsp Sweet Paprika 1 1/2 tbsp Black Pepper 1/2 tbsp White Pepper 1/2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper 1/2 tbsp Onion Salt This makes more than you need for this chicken recipe but I am storing it for next time!

From: ChefTraylee

On Jul 26, 2005

As a Kentuckian, I know fried chicken. This was AWESOME! It had perfectly crunchy breading and was very moist and tender. Even reheating the next evening in the microwave it was still as juicy and delicious as the night before, even the breading was still crunchy. The only thing I did differently was that I did double dip and added a few more spices. This recipe is a definite keeper and one I will use from now on. Thanks so much for posting.

From: Pumpkie

On Apr 19, 2005

This was a very tender and juicy fried chicken. I loved the batter but did not taste the seasoning very much, so next time I will increase the season all and add some onion & garlic powder to it but that is just to suit our tastes. Thanks for sharing a great recipe, I never could cook fried chicken right before this thanks.

From: Kim D.

On Jun 27, 2004

This fried chicken was perfectly moist on the inside and cripsy on the outside! My DH has been begging me to make fried chicken, but I had never made it before. I followed your directions exactly, but I had to double the flour mixture. I used 3 large chicken breast and 6 large legs and had to fried them in 3 batches (because I have a medium-sized skillet), but it was well worth the time. I kept the fried chicken warm in the oven at 200F while frying the rest of the chicken. I did sub Tony's Chachere's seasoning in place of Season-All salt, because that is all I had on hand. I will definitely be making this again and again! Thanks Nan!