I tried my hands on our favorite KFC style crispy fried chicken; I don’t know if it is comparable or not, but honestly it turned out pretty damn amazing!
Crispy fried chicken needs no introduction! Thanks to globalization, we can see this giant chain of restaurants offering a bucket of hot & crispy chicken in almost all big cities of the world! And more often than not, we get tempted to pay a visit there!
If you are traveling to a new country and not very familiar with their local food, this global favorite comes in pretty handy. I would still urge you to try local cuisine when you are exploring a new region of the world to feel the deeper flavor of its culture.
Big and bold fried chicken has innumerable variations and each one has its own uniqueness. This is because it has traversed through many parts of the world since it originated until it became an identifier of American cuisine.
Why do we love these KFC style crispy fried chicken so much?
Why is this particular type of fried chicken offered by KFC such a rage? Have you ever thought about it? This is their classic hot & crispy chicken which I believe is running from the inception.
They also introduced many new flavors to experiment the customers’ engagement with the upgraded flavors, but I don’t think anything did stick more than the original!
When I think about it, I feel it’s all about the pleasure that this crispy fried chicken delivers to our senses. These fried chickens are never too spicy, perfectly seasoned, super crunchy on the outside and supremely juicy and tender on the inside.
When you take your very first bite on the crisp outer coating, a signal of pleasure gets triggered to your brain and gradually you get addicted to this feeling of sense of joy. I am sorry if I am being too technical or critical of a simple fried chicken!
All I want to say is these magical crispy fried chicken can be made at home easily, so you don’t always have to visit the restaurant to experience this delight! Also making these hot & crispy chicken at home is much more budget friendly!
Ingredients for KFC style crispy fried chicken
Chicken: You might be thinking which portion of chicken would be ideal for this recipe when making at home, right? I am a drumstick and thigh kinda girl, so I will always recommend using bone-in and skin-on chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs for such a high temperature recipe. You can use chicken breast, but ultimately this is not a low-calorie recipe, so you won’t gain much in terms of calorie savings by using chicken breast.
Buttermilk: This is a very important ingredient which will convert an okayish crispy fried chicken to a mind-blowing one by tenderizing and seasoning the chicken deep inside the meat during the brining process. I strongly recommend brining the chicken overnight to let the buttermilk do its magic!
Chilli sauce: The chicken will be seasoned and infused with flavors in 2 steps – once while brining and secondly through the outer coating. Chilli sauce or any hot sauce added to buttermilk will penetrate inside the meat making it very flavorful.
Grated garlic: Garlic is a must for any chicken recipe to build the flavor and you can either choose a tablespoon of grated garlic or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to be added to the brining liquid.
Salt: A generous teaspoon of salt is needed in brining liquid to ensure nicely seasoned meat and also another teaspoon for the flour mixture used for outer coating.
Black pepper powder: A dash of black pepper to add the kick – both while brining and in the flour.
All-purpose flour/maida: Approximately 2 cups of all-purpose flour or maida will be needed for 8 pieces of chicken but I suggest not to start with the entire 2 cups. Start with 1 cup and finish the first batch and then make the coating mixture of the second batch. You can comfortably half the remaining ingredients of the coating mixture.
Cornflour / cornstarch: Cornflour will add the much needed crunchiness when mixed with maida, so don’t skip it. For 1 cup of maida, add ⅛ cup of cornflour.
Mixed herb / Italian seasoning: Add a good amount of mixed dried herbs or Italian seasoning which is a fabulous combination of all the flavorful herbs, chilli flakes etc, which will add subtle yet satisfying zing to your crispy fried chicken.
Red chilli powder / paprika: Finally a dash of red chilli powder or paprika to complete the flavor profile of the chicken.
Sunflower oil/canola oil: You will need lots of oil to fry these big chicken pieces. Use any flavorless oil which is suitable for deep frying at a very high temperature, like refined sunflower oil, canola oil etc.
How to make KFC style crispy fried chicken at home?
There are essentially two major prep for these crispy fried chicken – brining and coating + frying. Let’s check the step by step process.
Step 1: Wash and pat dry your chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs. Then make deep cuts with a sharp knife at the thickest part of each drumstick and thigh.
Step 2: Brining: Take a large bowl, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces, and add all brining ingredients to it – buttermilk, chilli sauce, salt, black pepper and garlic. Whisk well to mix everything evenly.
Step 3: Brining (contd.): Now drop the chicken pieces into the buttermilk mixture making sure that all the pieces are well inside the liquid and not poking out. You can increase the amount of buttermilk if 2 cups are not enough.
Step 4: Brining (contd.): Cover the bowl with a tight fitting lid or a cling wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 4 hours for the flavor to develop and season the chicken from inside.
Step 5: When you are ready to fry, take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least an hour before that so that it comes somewhat closer to room temperature.
Step 6: Now take a deep pot for frying and put it on medium flame. Add enough oil of your choice so that the big pieces of chicken remain fully inside the oil while frying.
Step 7: Coating: While the oil is getting hot, mix all the coating ingredients in a large dish – all-purpose flour (aka maida), cornflour (aka cornstarch), mixed herb or Italian seasoning, red chilli powder or paprika, salt and black pepper powder. Give a good mix so that the spices are distributed evenly.
Step 8: Coating (contd.): Now take one chicken piece at a time and let the excess buttermilk drip off. Then drop it in the flour mixture. Then using the dry hand, start coating the chicken with flour mixture on all sides giving a good thick coating. Press the flour firmly on the chicken pieces using your fingers so that they stick to the meat. Repeat the above for all chicken pieces.
Step 9: When the oil is hot and bubbling, reduce the heat to low and start dropping the flour coated chicken into the hot oil one by one. Do not overcrowd the pan, only fry that many pieces at a time which can comfortably float in the oil without pushing each other. You will have to fry in batches.
Step 10: Bring back the heat to medium and ensure that the oil temperature does not drop significantly and it continues to bubble. Fry each batch of chicken for 8-10 minutes on medium heat, frequently turning them using a slotted spoon or spider.
Step 11: While the chicken is frying, cover a large plate or even a baking sheet with kitchen paper which will absorb the excess oil from the fried chicken.
Step 12: After about 10 minutes, take the chicken out one by one using a slotted spoon or spider, allowing the excess oil to drip off. Then place them carefully on the plate covered with absorbent kitchen paper.
Step 13: At this point, you can sprinkle a pinch of salt over the hot chicken pieces and let them rest for a few minutes before serving. Your KFC style hot and crispy homemade chicken fry is ready to devour! Serve it with ketchup or your favorite mayo dip.
Other crispy chicken recipes from my blog:
- Chicken - 4 drumsticks & 4 thighs, skin-on & bone-in
- Buttermilk - 2 cup
- Chilli sauce - 2 tbsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
- Grated garlic - 1 tbsp (or 1 tsp of garlic powder)
- All-purpose flour/maida - 2 cups
- Cornflour / cornstarch - ¼ cup
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder - ½ tsp
- Mixed herb / Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder / paprika - 2 tsp
- Sunflower oil/canola oil - enough for deep frying
- Wash and pat dry your chicken drumsticks and chicken thighs. Then make deep cuts with a sharp knife at the thickest part of each drumstick and thigh.
- Take a large bowl, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces, and add all brining ingredients to it - buttermilk, chilli sauce, salt, black pepper and garlic. Whisk well to mix everything evenly.
- Now drop the chicken pieces into the buttermilk mixture making sure that all the pieces are well inside the liquid and not poking out. Feel free to increase the amount of buttermilk if 2 cups are not enough.
- Cover the bowl with a tight fitting lid or a cling wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 4 hours for the flavor to develop and season the chicken from inside.
- When you are ready to fry, take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least an hour before that so that it comes somewhat closer to room temperature.
- Now take a deep pot for frying and put it on medium flame. Add enough oil of your choice so that the big pieces of chicken remain fully inside the oil while frying.
- While the oil is getting hot, mix all the coating ingredients in a large dish - all-purpose flour (aka maida), cornflour (aka cornstarch), mixed herb or Italian seasoning, red chilli powder or paprika, salt and black pepper powder. Give a good mix so that the spices are distributed evenly.
- Now take one chicken piece at a time and let the excess buttermilk drip off. Then drop it in the flour mixture. Then using the dry hand, start coating the chicken with flour mixture on all sides giving a good thick coating. Repeat the above for all chicken pieces.
- When the oil is hot and bubbling, reduce the heat on low and start dropping the flour coated chicken into the hot oil one by one. Do not overcrowd the pan, only fry that many pieces at a time which can comfortably float in the oil without pushing each other. You will have to fry in batches.
- Bring back the heat to medium and ensure that the oil temperature does not drop significantly. Fry each batch of chicken for 8-10 minutes on medium heat, frequently turning them using a slotted spoon or spider. (See above for pro tip!)
- While the chicken is frying, cover a large plate or even a baking sheet with kitchen paper which will absorb the excess oil from the chicken.
- After about 10 minutes, take the chicken out one by one using a slotted spoon or spider, allowing the excess oil to drip off. Then place them carefully on the plate covered with absorbent kitchen paper.
- At this point, you can sprinkle a pinch of salt over the hot chicken pieces and let them rest for a few minutes before serving.
- Your hot and crispy KFC style homemade chicken fry is ready to devour! Serve it with ketchup or your favorite mayo dip. Enjoy!
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