With chicken breasts and common ingredients, you can easily make this country-fried chicken in the South! Your family will adore this traditional comfort food when served with gravy and mashed potatoes!
Serve this with buttermilk biscuits, cornbread, roasted green beans, and gravy, of course!
Country Fried Chicken
"Did you get this from the mama at the restaurant?" four-year-old me.
And that, right there, says it all. If there’s anything that’s worth mastering in the kitchen, it’s a solid fried chicken recipe. Serve this with mashed potatoes, gravy, and buttermilk biscuits, and you’ll be in heaven. (Maybe a little green bean casserole on the side?)
How to Make It
Each chicken breast should be wrapped in Saran wrap. Use a meat tenderizer to flatten and roughly ½ inch thicken the chicken. (For more information on why I strongly advise taking this action, see the section below. It's time well spent.)
Dry the chicken entirely with a towel. Buttermilk, salt, and whisked eggs should all be combined. Add the chicken and let it sit in the marinade for a few hours or overnight. It will become more tender the longer it marinates.
Before frying, allow the marinated chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Add the breading mix to the chicken. Until it is completely dry and coated, flip it over several times and work the breading into all of the crevices.
Don't bread the chicken in its entirety at once. Each piece should be ready just before you start to fry it.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees, adding just enough to cover the chicken by half. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side after adding it. Carefully flip with a thin spatula once the outside edge starts to brown up nicely.
Once both sides are golden brown, carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack and let any remaining oil drip out the bottom. By doing this, the bottom is kept from getting wet.
Tenderizing The Chicken
The step that takes the longest is pounding the chicken. The following are some benefits of tenderizing chicken over simply cutting it into thinner slices to save time:
- The result is extremely tender chicken. It gives the chicken's exterior more texture, so you can press more breading into the cracks. That is what gives it the texture and crunch of country-fried chicken.
- It cooks more quickly and evenly.
- Pounding chicken thin will enable it to cook more thoroughly while maintaining its nice, thin, restaurant-quality appearance and feel. Chicken expands when cooked.
Why Soak Chicken in Buttermilk?
- Due to the presence of enzymes that aid in the breakdown of the protein fibers, it improves the chicken's tenderness and flavor.
- Providing grip, makes the breading adhere to the chicken much more effectively.
- It has fat and acids that aid in the destruction of the outer skin, producing a crispier outer crust.
Buttermilk Substitutes
- ½ cup milk plus 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 4 tablespoons of milk plus 2 cups of plain yogurt.
- 2 cups of milk plus 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Leave for five to ten minutes.
- 2 cups of milk plus 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Observe for ten minutes. It will appear curdled.
- Blend by stirring.
What to Serve With Country Fried Chicken
- Cornbread or Corn Casserole
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- 10-minute Chicken Gravy or Brown Gravy
- Buttermilk Biscuits
Country Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk, see notes for substitutions
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 3 teaspoons salt
Breading
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup breadcrumbs, plain or Italian
- 2 ½ teaspoons seasoned salt
- ¾ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoons black pepper
Instructions
Prep Work
- Cover each chicken breast with saran wrap. Use a meat tenderizer and pound the chicken flat, about ½ inch thick.
- Pat the chicken completely dry. Combine the whisked eggs, salt, and buttermilk. Add the chicken and marinade for 1-2 hours, (or overnight). The longer it marinades, the more tender it will be.
- Let the chicken sit out for 25-30 minutes at room temperature before frying.
Cooking Instructions
- Transfer the marinated chicken to the breading mix. Flip it over several times and work the breading into all of the little nooks and crannies until it's completely dry and coated.
- *Don't bread all of the chicken at once. Prepare each piece right before you're ready to fry it.
- Add enough oil to a skillet to cover the chicken by half and heat it to 350°. Use a cast iron skillet if possible as it conducts heat the best for frying.
- Carefully add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, once the outside edges begin to brown up nicely, carefully flip with a thin spatula
- Once browned on each side, carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow excess oil to drip out from the bottom. This prevents the bottom from getting soggy.
- Repeat for all chicken breasts and serve with cornbread, mashed potatoes and chicken gravy or brown gravy!
Notes
- ½ cup milk + 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 4 tablespoons milk + enough plain yogurt to make 2 cups.
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 10 minutes. It'll look curdled. Stir to combine.
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