How to Eat Fried Chicken

Fried chicken that’s battered and deep fried is a classic dish in the cuisine of the American South. This is a delicious dish that makes for a great dinner, a wonderful addition to a picnic, and it goes perfectly with an outdoor barbecue during the warm summer months. Eating fried chicken can be a bit of a challenge if you’ve never done it before, but the main thing to know is that it’s a finger food, so don’t worry about getting a little messy!

Ingredients

8 cups (1.9 L) lukewarm water
½ cup (150 g) salt

Makes 8 servings

2 large eggs
1½ cups (353 ml) water
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (56 g) garlic salt
1 tablespoon (5 g) paprika
2½ teaspoons (5 g) poultry seasoning
3 teaspoons (7 g) pepper, divided
8 pounds (3.6 kg) broiler chicken, precut
Oil for frying

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Eating Fried Chicken with Your Hands

When the fried chicken is still hot, transfer it to individual plates for serving. Fried chicken is greasy and can be messy, so put out plenty of napkins or paper towels so you can wipe your hands and mouth as you eat.^{[1]XResearch source}
2
Pick up a piece of chicken. Fried chicken is a finger food, meaning you can eat it with your hands and don’t need a knife and fork. Some pieces of fried chicken, like drumsticks, will have natural handles you can hold easily with one hand. For more awkward pieces, like the breast, use two hands to hold both ends of the piece.^{[2]XResearch source}
- To get a better grip on the chicken and to prevent your hands from getting too greasy, wrap a napkin around one end of the chicken, such as around the tip of the wing or the top of the drumstick.
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3
Take small bites. Bring the entire piece of chicken to your mouth and take a small bite from the piece.^{[3]XResearch source} Lower the piece away from your mouth as you chew and swallow. Keep taking small bites until you’ve eaten all the meat from the bone. Avoid licking the bones clean when you're at a restaurant or out in public.
- When you're done with the piece, place the bone back down on your plate.
Even though fried chicken is a finger food, it’s still not polite to lick your fingers in public. Use a napkin to wipe excess grease from your hands. You can also excuse yourself to the bathroom to wash your hands with soap and water.^{[4]XResearch source}
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Making Your Own Fried Chicken

1
Brine the chicken. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 8 cups (1.9 L) of lukewarm water and the ½ cup (150 g) of salt. Stir to dissolve the salt. Place the chicken into the brine. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for about four hours.
- You can also brine the chicken overnight if you want to fry it up in the morning.
- Brining the chicken like this before frying it will ensure the meat is tender and juicy.^{[5]XResearch source}
2
Coat the chicken in the egg. Break the eggs into a shallow bowl. Add the water, salt, and 2 teaspoons (4.6 g) of the black pepper. Whisk the mixture together. Drain the chicken into a colander and discard the brine. Transfer the chicken to the egg mixture and stir to coat the chicken in the egg.^{[6]XResearch source}
- The egg will help the flour coating stick to the chicken, which will make for fried chicken that has a thick and crispy batter.
3
Dredge the chicken. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, garlic salt, paprika, poultry seasoning, and 1 teaspoon (2.3 g) of the black pepper. Remove the chicken from the egg mixture and transfer it to the bowl. Toss everything together to completely coat the chicken in the flour and spice mixture.
- You can also toss the chicken and flour together in a paper or resealable bag.
- Other spices you can add to the flour mixture include ground ginger, ground mustard, and dried herbs like basil, thyme, and oregano.^{[7]XResearch source}
Remove the chicken from the flour mixture and place the pieces onto a wire cooling rack. Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes as the oil preheats. This will give the coating time to set, so it won’t fall off when the chicken is cooking.^{[8]XResearch source}
5
Preheat the oil. Fill a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan with enough oil so that there's a 4-inch (10-cm) layer in the pan. Depending on the size of the pan, this could take about 5 cups (1.18 L) of oil. Heat the pan over medium heat and bring the oil to 350 F (177 C).
- Good oils for frying include vegetable, canola, and peanut.
- You can also use a heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven to fry the chicken.^{[9]XResearch source}
6
Fry the chicken. When the oil reaches 350 F (177 C), transfer as much chicken to the pan as you can without crowding the pieces. You'll likely have to fry the chicken in a few batches. Fry the chicken for 10 to 15 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C). Use tongs to turn the chicken every three minutes as it cooks.^{[10]XResearch source}
- When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oil and let the oil return to 350 F (177 C) before cooking another batch. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.
7
Rest the chicken before serving. Remove the cooked chicken from the oil and transfer it to a wire cooling rack set on a baking sheet. Let the excess oil drain off and the chicken rest for about 10 minutes. This will ensure the chicken stays juicy while you eat it.
- Don’t drain the chicken on paper towels, as this will steam the chicken and make the batter soggy.^{[11]XResearch source}
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Serving Fried Chicken Other Ways

1
Add a sauce. Fried chicken is often served with different sauces, and there's no limit to the types of sauce you can serve with this dish.^{[12]XResearch source} You can either place a small amount of sauce on your plate to dip the chicken into, fill a small bowl with sauce for dipping, or pour sauce right onto the chicken if you're in a casual setting. Popular sauces to pair with fried chicken include:
- Barbecue
- Hot sauce
- Honey
- Ranch
- Honey-mustard
- Gravy
2
Serve the chicken with a traditional side. Fried chicken isn't often served alone as a meal, and it’s often paired with a number of different side dishes. A few of the most popular side dishes to go with fried chicken include:^{[13]XResearch source}
- Baked potatoes
- Collard greens
- Mac and cheese
- Cole slaw
- Potato salad
- Cornbread
3
Try chicken and waffles. Waffles are a classic pairing with fried chicken, and many people like eating this dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Typically, you serve a piece of fried chicken on top of a freshly made waffle, and serve the chicken with its own sauces and the waffle with a sweet syrup, such as maple.
- When eating chicken and waffles, eat the chicken with your hands and the waffle with a knife and fork.
Hot chicken is a Nashville version of fried chicken. The major difference is the spices used, because Nashville hot chicken is very spicy. To make this dish, you can either add a spicy sauce to the chicken afterward, or marinate the chicken in spices before breading.^{[14]XResearch source}
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