Chicken Fried Chicken
I’m a big fan of good old-fashioned comfort foods. You can’t get more classic than Chicken Fried Chicken. It’s a simple recipe of breaded chicken breasts that are fried to crispy, extra crunchy goodness.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Foster Farms. All opinions are 100% mine.
These photos don’t do it justice. I’m talking super crunchy bits of flavor morsels. The trick to getting this perfect crunch is using a flour mixture combined with a buttermilk mixture to coat the chicken breasts. Then simply fry the breaded chicken in oil until browned and crunchy. Let’s break it down step-by-step.
How to Make Chicken Fried Chicken
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and seasonings.
- In a separate bowl stir together buttermilk and an egg.
- Dip thin chicken breast pieces into the flour mixture and evenly coat both sides. Dip into the buttermilk mixture, then dip into the flour mixture again to coat.
- Preheat about 2 inches of frying oil in a skillet or frying pan on medium to 325° F.
- Add some of the breaded chicken breast pieces, leaving space between each. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes until browned. Rotate to brown the other sides and cook to an internal temp of at least 165° F.
- Remove the chicken breast pieces and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil. Serve with country gravy or desired sauce and sides such as Honey Sriracha Coleslaw.
Tips for this Recipe
What Type of Chicken Breasts to Use
- Look for thin-cut chicken breasts so they fry evenly and create the ideal browned coating. If all you can find are regular sized, you can cut them in half
- Some chicken fried recipes call for pounding or tenderizing the meat. This isn’t necessary if you use thinner chicken breasts. The texture will still be plenty tender and moist.
I’ve been using Foster Farms Simply RaisedⓇ Free Range Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts in some of my recent recipes. And it’s not a coincidence that they have all tasted amazing. Foster Farms Simply Raised chicken is antibiotic-free, air-chilled, raised free range with 100% vegetarian feed and no added hormones.
I truly believe not all chicken (and meats) are the same. It’s always best to find a brand and product you like. Give these a try and look for their products at a retailer near you or use their store finder.
What Oil Temp for Fried Chicken
Heat oil to 325° F to fry breaded chicken breasts. If lower the breading won’t properly brown and if higher the breading is likely to brown too much.
If you don’t have a digital thermometer to check the oil, heat it over medium to medium-high heat. Test it by adding a bit of the leftover breading and it should immediately start bubbling. If not, then it’s not hot enough. If the oil starts to smoke it’s too hot.
What Type of Oil to Use for Frying
Be sure to use frying oil that has a higher smoke point. While Chicken Fried Chicken doesn’t use high-heat frying, it’s still safer. I recommend (in order of preference) avocado, grapeseed, peanut, canola, or corn oil. Olive oil isn’t recommended and is best used for lower heat cooking such as sauteing.
How Long to Fry Chicken Breast
On medium heat with 325° F oil, chicken breast should fry for 4 to 7 minutes depending on thickness. Cook chicken to an internal temp of at least 165° F to be safe.
Use Country Gravy for Topping
This Chicken Fried Chicken recipe gets even better with a homemade country gravy sauce that uses some of the frying oil. This adds extra flavor and helps to create the roux, which is a flour-base for sauces and gravies.
Note: If you prefer not to use the frying oil, you can substitute it with butter.
What to Serve with Chicken Fried Chicken
Besides veggies such as peas or string beans you can serve the fried chicken with some of my favorite dinner sides:
- Easy Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Candied Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes
- Keto Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
- Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
- String Bean Casserole
- Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
How to Store Leftovers
Store the fried chicken and country gravy separately in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. This fried chicken is so crunchy, it still had a crispy texture with leftovers. For even more crunchiness, reheat the leftovers in an oven or toaster oven instead of the microwave.
More chicken recipes to add in your list:
- Chicken Alfredo
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Chicken Katsu
- Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Alfredo Zucchini Lasagna
- Apricot and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Fried Steak
Chicken Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Fried Chicken
- 2 pounds Foster Farms Free Range Simply Raised Chicken Breast Fillets cut in half
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- Frying oil such as avocado, grapeseed, peanut, canola, or corn oil
Country Gravy Sauce
- ⅓ cup of the used frying oil or butter
- ½ cup flour
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To Fry the Chicken Breasts
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl stir together the buttermilk and egg.
- One at a time, dip the chicken breasts into the flour mixture and press to evenly coat both sides. Next, dip into the buttermilk mixture, then dip into the flour mixture again to coat well. Repeat for remaining chicken pieces.
- Preheat about 2 inches of frying oil in a skillet or frying pan on medium to 325° F.
- Add some of the breaded chicken breast pieces, leaving space between each. Fry for 3 to 5 minutes until browned. Rotate to brown the other sides and cook to an internal temp of at least 165° F.
- Remove the chicken breasts and place them onto a paper-towel line plate to drain. Repeat for remaining chicken pieces. Reserve some of the frying oil to make the country gravy.
- Serve with country gravy or desired sauce and sides.
To Make the Country Gravy
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the reserved frying oil and flour until it forms a thick past-like consistency. If using butter, melt the butter first, then add the flour.
- Slowly add the milk while and whisk until smooth. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, to heat and thicken the sauce.
- Pour over the fried chicken and serve.
I wish to try the recipe for Chicken Fried Chicken with ghee butter instead of using vegetable oil. Ghee offers a higher smoke point and ghee is more flavorsome than any other vegetable oil. Please Matt, let me know if I am choosing the right oil for a high temperature deep-frying recipe? Thanks in advance.
I prefer using Milkio grass-fed ghee for all my recipes.
Hi Sofia. That’s a great question and thanks for the comment. You can use a variety of frying oil‘s, but I’ve never tried ghee. As long as the smoke point is much higher than butter it should work. You’ll just need to find the balance of enough heat to crisp up the breading, but not cause smoking.