Southern Pan-Fried Chicken
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes, plus about 24 hours for brining and soaking
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings.
- 13-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- ¼cup kosher salt
- 4cups buttermilk
- 1pound lard
- 8tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½cup country ham pieces or 1 thick slice country ham cut into ½-inch strips
- 1cup flour
- 2tablespoons cornstarch
- ½teaspoon salt
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
1071 calories; 89 grams fat; 35 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 37 grams monounsaturated fat; 11 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 40 grams protein; 1141 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
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Step 1
The night before serving: Place chicken in a large bowl and set aside. In a large pitcher, combine kosher salt with 6 cups of water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Pour salted water over chicken pieces until they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
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Step 2
In the morning, drain chicken pieces and rinse chicken and bowl. Return chicken to bowl and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
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Step 3
About 1¼ hours before serving, combine the lard, butter and ham in a large heavy skillet. Cook over low heat, skimming as needed, until ham is lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove ham and brown bits from fat. Increase heat to medium high to heat the fat to 335 degrees.
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Step 4
In a shallow bowl combine flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper; mix well. Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in flour mixture, then pat well to remove excess flour. Working in batches (do not crowd pan), place chicken pieces skin side down in fat. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Drain on crumpled paper towels. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
gale
Check into LARD! before commenting. The real, non hydrogenated stuff is not nearly as horrid as you seem to think. Perhaps we all should lighten up about something we don't consume every day but adds greatly to one of life's great pleasures, eating.
Wade
My family always covered the pan, with the cover slightly cocked to vent steam, up to the point of turning the pieces, after which it was left off. This eases the balancing act of maintaining frying temperature while ensuring the full cooking of the interior without over-browning the outside or drying the meat out. Leaving the cover off for the second act prevents smothering the freshly-formed crust.
Tammy
Warning! Don't read if you are offended by authentic southern recipes!!
This is almost exactly like my Grandma's! Except a scoop of bacon grease is added instead of the ham step. This also make the best pan gravy in the world. Pour off all but 1/2 cup of fat being careful to keep most of 'brownouts' in pan. Add a little flour and cook for about one minute. Add WHOLE milk and salt and pepper (lots of pepper a must!) and you have an authentic Southern-fried gravy.
Stephanie R
Born and bred in the south and 8-10 minutes per side is not enough cooking time.
Sally
You can skip the ham frying and just use saved bacon drippings.
Salt and pepper before dredging!!
Ok, this is definitely going to make the food safety/legal team groan, but frying always gives a better result when the food is near room temperature . . . maybe cool to the touch. If you keep your chicken in the frig until 5 minutes before it goes in the pan, get ready for burned crust and half-done meat near the bones.
SuAyres
About lard: what you want is called "Rendered leaf lard", from the fat around the pig's kidneys. A good butcher shop will either have it, or be able to get it for you. And our great-great grandmothers used it, not only to fry the chicken, but in biscuits, pie crusts and a host of other applications. It's way healthier than vegetable shortening, and the results are sublime.
Joe
Just use the lard (if you can find it) and enjoy real southern food. If your not eating food cooked in lard several times a week...you have nothing to fear. When you order "real" fried chicken in a restaurant, how do you think they're cooking it? In coconut oil?!
Rima B.
My father, from Ringgold GA, used bacon fat and a paper bag for giving the chicken pieces a good shaking to coat before frying. Very delicious!
Steve
Can someone tell me if one should try to maintain the temp at 335^ or start there, let it drop when the chicken is added and then recover without changing the heat setting? I tried to maintain 335 and after 8 minutes the crust was already overcooked (too browned). I finished the the chicken in the oven, but it was unappealing. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments.
Kay
My family always covered the pan, with the cover slightly cocked to vent steam, up to the point of turning the pieces, after which it was left off. This eases the balancing act of maintaining frying temperature while ensuring the full cooking of the interior without over-browning the outside or drying the meat out. Leaving the cover off for the second act prevents smothering the freshly-formed crust.
Riley Temple
My "Gift of Southern Cooking" is now falling apart, I use it so much and love it so. The macaroni and cheese recipe maybe my all time favorite, and the cobbler recipes. Of course, I do not disclose to any guest how my fried chicken, cooked the Edna Lewis way, has been prepared -- all of them now so kale-eating, gluten-free, organic, blah, blah, blah. I just enjoy watching their lips get all greasy...
Kathryn
This is real fried chicken very close to my late grandmothers.
I cannot cook chicken without rubbed sage in the flour dredge
it is essential. I save some of the skimmed drippings and make
a must have chicken gravy, a must have with fried chicken and
mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Wade
10-11 inches; larger and you'll have to move the pieces around a lot to get even browning. The traditional chicken frying pan is cast iron and a tad over 3" deep and has flared sides like a skillet - between a frying pan and a dutch oven. The later will do a good job but manipulating the chicken pieces will be a little harder than with lower, flared sides.
Judy
I love The Gift of Southern Cooking. Great book. I've made this recipe several times, and served it guests, who always love it.
Anne K
I learned to fry chicken from my born in the Ozarks dad, and over the years I’ve modified it. Here are some of my cooking tips: Always use an electric skillet, which takes the guess work out of watching a burner on the stovetop, which is unreliable. The skillet will actually keep your temperature fairly constant. (Tip subhead: if your electric skillet cooks unevenly, move chicken around to compensate.) I fry my chicken at around 375 or so. It takes at least 17 minutes on a side.
Deb Armstrong
My mother always made fried chicken in an electric frying pan which makes maintaining the temperature easier than the stovetop. That's how I make this recipe and it never fails. I also use the bacon fat in place of rendering country ham. Once cool, I save the lard/bacon fat and refrigerate it and can reuse it several times. I also add a bit of hot sauce to the buttermilk marinade which kicks up the flavor to our liking.
Tony
Have not made this yet, but look forward to doing so. Any suggestions about whether there is a possibility of reusing the lard/butter after cooking the chicken? Can you strain through cheesecloth and save for a next time? Freeze? Any info would be appreciated.
Arsenic and Rosemary
I realized part way through that the recipe was made for a delicate bird with white feathers and grace of a baby angel. My bird was a T-Rex channeling, home grown, absolute chonk of a chicken. Or maybe I missed a step along the way. Whatever happened, it gave the mashed potatoes a chance to shine. I'm just sorry something had to die for that meal.
Gina
Bacon grease was a mainstay my mom used for frying chicken, (best chicken ever,) and always skinned the chicken. I’d use bacon instead of ham and dip chicken in an egg wash after flouring. Lard is a great fat for frying savory foods.
Roxanne
Can you use bacon fat instead of lard?
cedge mo
I use will pickle juice. For chin brine. Works very well. And you can brine in am,fry in pm.makes best friend chkn.
Sharon Toji
My father's wonderful friend chicken (he was invited to take the job of "fried chicken chef at the Coconut Grove but declined), was fried in chicken fat. He dredged in a bag of flour with salt and pepper. Fried with pieces close together skin down about 15 minutes, then turned once only, to cook through. Total about 45 minutes if I remember correctly. Always a beautiful almost red crust, tender and tasty. Served with my mother's biscuits, mashed potatoes and green salad, then homemade berry pie.
Elnora Stuart
For the person who said this recipe needs a longer cooking time: This recipe called for a 3-pound bird which is small enough to cook in that amount of time. Today, we are lucky to get a 5-pound chicken. I just don't know where I can get a 3-pound chicken. Growing up, my folks raised our own chickens from little "biddies." When they got to 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, the girls went into the henhouse for egg production and the roosters frozen for Sunday dinner "production."
Morgan
I followed this recipe EXACTLY. I even used a candy thermometer to try to get the temperature of the oil just right. No matter what the chicken was raw inside every batch at 8 minutes and it is impossible to get the outside brown without burning and the inside cooked through. Ended up spending two days on a dinner I had to throw out. What a waste of time.
SundayCook
Impossible to find the tiny 3 lb chicken. My mother (from Texas) always fried 15 minutes on each side. Cut the breast halves in half. hard to regulate the heat since medium is different on every burner. i'm going to have to work on this. But my family loved it.
Lucy
I couldn’t keep the temp even and most of the batter fell off the chicken. The flavor of the chicken was amazing, but I’m told that this recipe can only not work using an electric fryer.
mike
My family eats kosher so a lot of the ingredients would not work in creating this recipe. How do I do this without using buttermilk and what subsititue could I use besides the lard and other pork products listed to acheive the favor everyone is talking about.
Maria
If you can find good, clean tallow, you can replace the lard. I would use another smoked, salted meat to replace ham- have you ever tried duck bacon? It's great. As for buttermilk, I don't think there is any perfect dairy-free substitute. However, a pickle-juice brine would be great for this (or any) fried chicken, and any brine with a splash of vinegar (apple cider would be good) could potentially impart some of the softness you get from the acids in the buttermilk.
S g
Where on earth do you get 3# chickens? I live in Oregon, home ,apparently, of big birds. Wish you would address this. Thanks.
Maria
Have you tried checking local farms or farmer's markets?
Meljorino
Buy pieces
Frank
@Meljorino As the recipe calls for a 3lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces, buying random parts in the grocery wouldn't work as they're certainly larger than the 8 pieces from a 3lb chicken would be.
NW Chadwick
For goodness sake, do save some of that country ham before you cook it to death and put a slice or two in one of those nice biscuits! Country ham biscuits are one of the most desired of foods where I live in the Southeast, excellent for bridal showers, cotillion, buffets, pig pickings, hors d'oeuvres, and other fine genteel Southern events. My Daddy preferred yeast rolls for the fancier gatherings, but biscuits do just fine.
Hayley
Love you!
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