Making traditional Southern Fried Chicken doesn’t have to be complicated. Learn how to make simple, authentic fried chicken with my quick and easy recipe. Perfect for a family dinner or special occasion!
When I get into the frame of mind to go back to my culinary roots, I always go to recipes that are representative of what I call southern farmhouse cooking. I’ve been cooking southern food since I was big enough to reach the stove, so it’s where I feel most comfortable. And what’s more southern than fried chicken?
It’s a standard. It’s a staple. And, most of all, it’s quick and easy. Yes, I did say “quick and easy.” Making my Real Simple Fried Chicken is not a production.
— This post was originally published on May 26, 2009. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
Recipe Snapshot
Cuisine: Southern, Vintage
Cooking Method: Stovetop
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Servings: 4
Primary Ingredient(s): Chicken, peanut oil, flour
Skill Level: Easy
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This was the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted and I’m 74 years old!! I was finally able to cook fried chicken that tasted like my mom’s, so many years ago. I had lost her original recipe and just was never able to duplicate it.“
— Diane Dannelley
Fried Chicken Should Be Quick and Easy
Making a good, simple fried chicken recipe does not require overnight marinades or special equipment or any kind of fancy preparation whatsoever. If it did, do you think millions of southern women would have cooked it for lunch every day for years and years?
I can tell you without hesitation that they would not have. For our southern grandmothers, it was something they could whip up in a few minutes.
I’ve seen the recipes and the demonstrations where chefs put the chicken in milk or buttermilk or yogurt and let it stand overnight in the refrigerator. Then, they coat it in all kinds of seasonings and shake it all up together in a paper bag.
Well, okay, if you really want to do that, be my guest. But what you typically get with that method is a big mass of fried flour with a little bit of chicken in the middle of it.
You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook!
You can see this recipe on pages 218-219 of my cookbook, My Southern Table! Get your signed copy today.
The Best Chicken for the Recipe
The very best Southern fried chicken recipe is made with a chicken that weighs about 3 pounds. That’s pretty hard to find in today’s supermarkets, especially when chickens have been bred for more breast meat, thereby causing them to weigh more.
Try to at least find the lightest weight bird in the case. If you have the skill to do so, buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself. You’ll save lots of money. I, unfortunately, do not have that particular skill. Wish I did. I’ve tried. I’ve tried a lot.
A chicken properly cut up for frying should result in two breasts, two wings, two thighs, and two legs. Long ago, there would also be a wishbone. The wishbone is the prime piece between the top of the breasts.
Unfortunately, butchers no longer cut the wishbone, leaving that portion in with the breasts. If you find a butcher today who knows what the wishbone is and can actually cut a chicken with a wishbone, you have found a gem!
Now, let me show you how to make fried chicken the way we do it in the South.
Here’s how I (and millions of southern women before me) make really simple fried chicken.
Ingredient Notes
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My easy fried chicken recipe uses very simple ingredients. Chicken, salt and pepper, flour, and oil. That’s all you need.
This is a very easy Southern fried chicken recipe without eggs, without buttermilk, or any of that other stuff. This is the way all the home cooks I knew when I was growing up made fried chicken. It’s quick, and it’s easy.
The Process
In the most simple terms, the process has five steps:
- Dry the chicken with paper towels.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Dredge in flour.
- Heat the oil.
- Fry the chicken.
Here’s those steps broken down in detail:
- Thoroughly dry all the chicken pieces and place them in a single layer in a pan or large bowl.
- Liberally salt and pepper the chicken pieces on both sides. Be very generous with the pepper. The taste of black pepper is very important to authentic Southern fried chicken.
Pro Tip
If you want to sneak in some other seasonings, this is the time to do that. It’s totally not necessary, but sometimes we like to change things up, don’t we? I’ll occasionally sprinkle on some Lawry’s seasoning salt, some Jane’s Crazy Mixed-Up Salt, or add some cayenne pepper. Whatever floats your boat. But if you’re a purist, you’ll stick with just salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle all the flour over the chicken in the pan and toss the chicken to coat it well with flour.
Pro Tip
What we’re doing here is “dredging” the chicken, not lightly flouring. That’s why you pour the flour over and toss the chicken in it rather than doing the shake-it-up-in-the-bag thing. You want a good coating of flour.
- Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat in a large cast-iron skillet. You’ll want enough oil to reach a depth of about 1/2 inch.
Pro Tip
The technique we use is pan frying (also called shallow frying), not deep frying. You’ll need enough oil to come about halfway up the pieces of chicken, but not so much that it will spill over when you place the chicken in the pan.
Judging the amount of oil needed for frying is one of those things you learn through time and experience. Start with about a one-inch depth of oil in your pan, and things should work out fine.
- Place the chicken pieces with the skin side down into the hot oil. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the skin is pale golden brown.
- Turn the chicken over and cook for about 10 minutes on the second side.
- Turn the chicken pieces once more, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the hot chicken to a paper towel-lined plate or to a rack set inside a baking sheet and allow it to drain for about 5 minutes.
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Use the Right Pan and Oil
Using a well-seasoned iron skillet makes a huge difference in the taste of fried chicken. There’s just something about a great iron skillet that you can’t get from any other piece of kitchen equipment. The one I use for chicken is a 12-inch skillet that’s about 75 years old.
Also, I recommend frying chicken in peanut oil because it will withstand higher temperatures for a longer time without burning than other oils.
Pro Tip
Experts will tell you that the oil should be 375 degrees before frying and to try to maintain that temperature during the cooking. I learned to cook before everyone had kitchen thermometers, so I judge it my own way. My little trick to test whether the oil is hot enough to cook: Put the end of a wooden spoon in the skillet. If the oil bubbles around the handle, it’s hot enough.
If you try this fried chicken method once, I’ll bet you won’t go back to all that complicated marinating and shaking. It’ll be the crispiest, most flavorful chicken you’ve cooked in a long time, or my name isn’t Nana.
I’m not making any kind of promises about what the cleanup is like, however 😏.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your beautifully golden, crispy fried chicken with something equally delicious and southern, like potato salad, fried okra, sausage and rice casserole, broccoli casserole, green beans, or butter beans. Or, if you’re familiar with Chicken and Waffles, you can use my Whole Wheat Waffles recipe to create your own. And don’t forget the cornbread and sweet tea!
Recipe Variations
- If you like your chicken on the spicier side, try adding a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the flour or sprinkle the chicken lightly with hot sauce before dredging it in the flour.
- Use Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Salt (or another seasoning salt) in place of the plain salt in the recipe.
- Lightly sprinkle the chicken pieces with a little garlic powder before placing them in the flour.
- You can use this method to cook whole cut-up chicken, boneless chicken breasts, chicken strips, or any pieces you like. I sometimes just cook all wings because they’re my favorite.
Why Isn’t My Fried Chicken Crispy?
The most likely reason your fried chicken isn’t crispy is that your oil temperature isn’t high enough while frying. When you place the chicken into the hot oil, you want to hear an audible “whoosh” and see the oil bubbling vigorously. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the chicken just kind of lies there, and the flour doesn’t crisp up as it should. Admittedly, this takes some practice, but I learned, and so can you.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you have any leftover fried chicken, you can keep it in the refrigerator for a day or two. It can be reheated in a 250-degree F oven for about 15 minutes or, even better, just let it come to room temperature and enjoy it without any heating at all.
More Southern Recipes You’ll Like
Southern Fried Okra
Boiled Peanuts
Old Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes
Southern Turnip Greens Recipe
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
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Recipe
Traditional Southern Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 frying chicken cut up
- salt
- pepper
- 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
- Peanut oil
Instructions
- Place the chicken pieces in a single layer in a shallow pan.1 frying chicken
- Liberally salt and pepper the chicken on both sides.salt, pepper
- Sprinkle flour over the chicken in the pan. Toss the chicken until well coated with flour.1 ½ cups self-rising flour
- Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil in a large iron skillet.Peanut oil
- Place the chicken pieces skin side down in the hot oil. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the skin is pale golden brown.
- Turn the chicken over and cook for 10 minutes on the second side.
- Turn chicken pieces once more and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove cooked chicken to a paper towel lined plate or a rack set in a baking pan and allow it to drain for about 5 minutes.
Notes
- Use additional seasonings if you like (i.e., cayenne, hot pepper sauces, seasoned salt), but for the most authentic taste, stick with just salt and pepper.
- I recommend using peanut oil because it will withstand higher temperatures for a longer time without burning than other oils.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two. You can reheat them in a 250 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
This is the easiest and by far the best fried chicken recipe (really technique) ever. I make this almost every week. I get the butcher at Publix to cut a whole chicken in eight pieces. I fry the thighs, legs, and wings, reserving the breasts for use in other recipes. I use White Lily self-rising flour to coat the chicken before frying in peanut oil. I cut the times down to 8 minutes and that works well in my big cast iron pot.
I am a 75 year old man and not much makes me smile these days, but this fried chicken does.
All the best.
It does my heart good to know that this recipe puts a smile on your face! I hope you continue enjoying for a long time to come.
Very good and easy to prepare.
Thanks!
This was really good! I googled “fried chicken no eggs” and was glad to have this well-rated recipe pop up. This is basically how I make my cutlets (with breadcrumbs and more seasonings) so I was familiar with the style. I added some Tony C’s to the flour.
Sounds good.
Very good!
So…time for dinner, we planned chicken but DARN, no eggs! Thus, my usual tried and true option was not an option. My wife found your recipe and we decided to go for it. This recipe is now in my recipe binder. Surprised to say the least. I chased the temps a bit on the stove but overall stayed close in the 350 – 375 range. The results were UNEXPECTED (as in REALLY GOOD)! Thank you for saving the egg-less chicken dinner! OH….and I used the hot oil to finish off some skinless thigh chunks that I sprayed with butter and lightly tossed with Parmesan cheese. Oh…my….goodness. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for your kind comment! So many people are surprised when they find you don’t need all that complicated process to simply fry chicken. But this is the way it was done for generations before it got all “fancy.” 😆
Laura, thank you for these recipes which for me really hit home. My mother and her mother passed on their recipe to me which is exactly like yours! I mean to the “t” or “tee”, or whichever, pun intended. And they also passes on to me the skill of cutting up a whole chicken to include, wait for it: the wishbone!! Maybe we’re kin☺️. So thank you again.
My pleasure, Sharon!
This is exactly how my grannie and my mamaw cooked their chicken so I learned to cook chicken like this. I’m 60 yrs old and still cook my chicken this way. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!!!
Lana I usually “jump to the recipe” but your intro made me want to read more and more, and I am so glad I did.
I’m making your fried chicken recipe in the morning for my wife and me to take to our 75 acres of woods and enjoy the day. She’s a southern girl so when I lay out a spread of Lana’s fried chicken, baked beans and corn bread… she’s going to be smiling her beautiful smile.
Great recipe Lana, very well done. Thank you.
I hope your wife enjoys the fried chicken!
This is how I’ve done it for 50 years also. All those other recipes give me nothing but globs of breading and a little piece of meat in the middle.
Exactly, Jennifer! I want fried chicken, not fried breading!
Lana, I’m almost 80 years old and I have been cooking for my family since I was 9 years old. Farm kids grew up early in those days. The only thing I do/did differently–use all purpose flour and to check temp of the oil (back then we used lard) we dropped a pinch of flour into the grease. If it sizzled, it was hot enough.
Lard makes the very best fried chicken and the best biscuits, too. And I also drop a pinch of flour in the oil sometimes to see if it’s hot enough :-)
Hi. I just happened to find this recipe when looking at an email that included your cornbread recipe. I had tried and tried different recipes for fried chicken. Either the batter was too thin or so thick it was soggy on the inside. I can’t wait to try this simple recipe. I will let you know how it turns out.
I’m looking forward to hearing how it worked out for you, Sharon.
Best tasting fried chicken I’ve ever made!! I had a craving for fried chicken, but ran out of eggs. My Google search for frying chicken without eggs led me to this recipe. I added some Paprika and Lawry’s Seasoning and followed the recipe as directed, and my goodness, the chicken came out nice and crispy but juicy and tasty on the inside!!! Chicken was so good, I didn’t have room for the sides. My picky daughter enjoyed it as well. No more stressing or being nervous about making fried chicken. Thank you! I’ll be checking out your other recipes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Marjorie! This is the way all the cooks in my family have made fried chicken for generations so, of course, I think it’s the best. I’m happy when others agree :-)
Glad I found this. A lot of the recipes mentioned buttermilk and eggs and I did not remember Mom and Gram using those when they made fried chicken. This is how they made it and the chicken turned out crispy and juicy. Thank You
You’re welcome, Terrie! Yes, this is the really old-fashioned, quick and easy style. No marinating, no buttermilk, no eggs… just chicken, flour, salt, and pepper. Turns out great every time!
Oh bless you! I’ve always been hesitant to fry bone-in chicken and all the recipes I came across on the internet made me feel like it was way out of my league. Your simple recipe was just what I needed. I even felt comfortable enough to get a little fancy and add some herbs to the salt and pepper rub. Chicken came out perfect. Thank you!
Sheila – your comment makes me so happy. Frying chicken doesn’t have to be complicated. This is the way my mama made it and her mama and her grandmother. Just so simple!
Can I make this in the air fryer ?
I have not tested this recipe in an air fryer. It’s meant to be cooked in oil in a skillet.
When I came across your recipe I was skeptical because I was under the impression that I needed all that extra seasonings, buttermilk etc. I went with it though and cooked it just how you specified. My lawd, this fried chicken was perfect! Who knew you don’t need all that other fuss to make the best fried chicken!? My family had me make it again the next day, lol!!
I’m so glad to hear that you and your family loved my simple fried chicken recipe! This is the exact way my mother and grandmother always made it – no messing about, just get on with it!