Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Explore the rich history and exceptional flavor of buttermilk fried chicken. This Southern classic combines a tender, juicy interior with a crispy, tangy exterior, making it an irresistible favorite.
Equipment
- Vessel for soaking chicken
- Scale
- Vessel for seasoning
- 1 Large heavy bottom pot This works best if it's cast iron or enamled cast iron
- Tongs
- Cookie sheet with rack
Ingredients
For The Buttermilk Marinade
- 500 g Buttermilk 2 c
- 5 g Kosher salt
- 2 g Paprika
- 2 g Black pepper 1 tsp
- 1 g Granulated onion ½ tsp
- 1 g Granulated Garlic ½ tsp
- 4 Chicken breasts or thighs Boneless and skinless, breasts should be butterflied in half
For The Flour Dredge For Frying
- 360 g Flour, all purpose white ~ 3 cups
- 13 g White sugar 1 tbsp
- 10 g Smoked Paprika ~ 1 tbsp +
- 20 g Black Pepper, Butcher Grind preferred ~ 2 tbsp + 1 tsp
- 2.5 g Granulated garlic ~ 1 tsp
- 2.5 g Granulated onion ~ 1 tsp
- 2.5 g Ground Celery Seed ~ 1 tsp
- Oil for frying Canola or other suitable oil
Instructions
For The Buttermilk Marinade
- Gather all of your ingredients needed for the marinade.
- Put the buttermilk and spices for the marinate into a vessel large enough to contain the chicken while soaking. Blend until no chunks are left in the mixture.
- Make sure your chicken is skin free and clear of any bones. If are you using breasts you should also remove the tenders at this time, those of course can be marinated and fried with the breasts. Butterfly the breasts in half, so they are 1/2 as thick.
- Once your chicken is sliced, place chicken into the buttermilk marinade and cover the chicken in the marinade and put into your fridge. Let soak for 12 - 24 hours. 12 hours at a minimum. You could probably do it in less time, in my experience the longer the better.
For The Flour Dredge - The Next Day
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, and blend well with a fork.
Putting It All Together
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes - 45 minutes before starting to fry. Leave in the marinade.
- Use a large pot heavy bottomed pot for frying. We use a enamled cast iron dutch oven style pot. Fill with oil to about ⅓ to ½ way up the pot. We will use about 3L in our pot. REMEMBER: oil expands as it's heated and will boil once wet product is dropped in. Do NOT fill your pot more than ½ way full. Less is sometimes better. Heat the oil until it reaches between 375 - 390. The oil will drop in temp when the chicken is put in.
- Have your flour dredge set up beside your oil on the counter. Once the oil has reached temperature take a piece of chicken out of the buttermilk and put it into the flour, make sure it's dregded and covered well. Do that until you have 4 pieces done, Once all four pieces are done (leave them in the flour) slowly put your chicken into the oil 1 breast at a time making sure to not burn yourself. There will be some splatter, be careful. Once all 4 pieces are in turn on a timer for 4 minutes.
- At the four minute mark take one breast out and take a temperature of the chicken in the thickest part. If the chicken has reached 165 degrees it is safe to remove. Place on your baking sheet with the cooling rack on it. Chicken floats when it's done, this is not a perfect indication though so always temp your chicken. If it's not 165 put back in for 1 - 2 minutes.
- While you are waiting for the first batch of chicken to finish frying start dredging your second batch, and the tenders if you saved them. Fry the second batch after your oil has come back up to temperature.
Final Steps
- You now have you Buttermilk Fried Chicken Breasts you can use on sandwiches or in salads. We tend to make Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches with them. This recipe will be put up this week as well.
Notes
There are lots of variations of sauces you can used for a Buttermilk Fried Chicken sandwich. We use a Nashville Hot Sauce, or a Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. We also always top with an vinegar based bread & butter pickle or a Easy Summer Coleslaw. Makes for one of the best Sandwiches out there.
The one you see in the picture has the Ranch Dressing, plus Nashville Hot Sauce, and a quick pickle of Anaheim Peppers we made the day before, plus the pickles. That's one of my favourite ways to dress it.
2025-06-27 after much testing we have updated this recipe with a new spice. We've included 2.5g of ground celery seed to the flour blend. You can of course leave this out if you choose, we love the addition though.