Recipes

Southern fried chicken that’s finger lick’n good

Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash

WHEN it comes to comfort food or a meal that will soak up any memories of the previous night’s drinking, you can not beat a large plate of succulent, juicy, and spicy fried chicken pieces.

The cuisine of the southern American states is fast becoming the go to food in the US at the moment and quickly hitting the bars and restaurants of the UK shores. Historically, southern cuisine starts south of the Mason Dixon Line from Pennsylvania through to the lower states of the Texan boarders. So many countries have contributed and influenced southern states food it’s hard to put your fingers on where the flavours actually originate.

The most daunting stage of this recipe can be the frying process. You’re frying oil at high temperatures which may be simple but caution must always be taken.

The trick is to always bring the oil slowly to the required 180 degrees, and using a thermometer to check on the progress will help with the safety side of the process.

Test to see if the oil is ready by placing a small piece of bread into the oil and if it sizzles you are then ready to go. But as an important safety tip: allow the oil to cool slowly before moving it from the stove to clean the pot or stove area.

So, for my favourite southern fried chicken recipe that’s just too darn finger lick’n good – lets get cracking! Happy cooking and enjoy (y’all).

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Southern fried chicken recipe

Recipe rating: 5.0 from 4 votes
Recipe by Chris Arkadieff Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg of fresh chicken pieces

  • 4 cups of plain flour

  • 3 tsp of salt

  • 3 tsp paprika

  • 1.5 tsp of chili powder

  • 1 tsp of garlic powder

  • 1 tsp onion seeds if available

  • 2 liters of vegetable frying oil

Directions

  • Fill a large pot with the oil and slowly bring to 180 degrees using a thermometer to regulate to heat.
  • Take a large bowl and add the flour, spices together and mix well.
  • Take a few pieces of chicken and roll in the spice mix and place on a floured plate until all pieces are coated.
  • Once all the pieces are coated place three pieces into the hot oil and allow to slowly start browning. This should take 4-5 minutes to be sure the chicken is cooked. Remove from the oil and place on a baking tray and rest in a warm oven at 120 degrees.
  • Continue with the remaining pieces until finished.
  • Once completed turn down the oil and allow cooling.
  • Remove the chicken from the oven and season with salt and cracked pepper and serve with wedges of fresh lemon.
Chris Arkadieff

Chris Arkadieff was born and raised in Australia where he gathered his first cooking experiences and won an Ansett “Best Apprentice Chef of the Year ” award. He was cooking on the exclusive Hayman Island in Australia, voted number two resort in the world, later he worked in Italy and did two stages in New York. He moved to London in 1999 to start working with Gordon Ramsay Group. After working first as sous chef and then head chef in London, he was in 2014 sent to Hong Kong to become the head chef for Gordon Ramsay’s group there. He is now head chef of the Strand Dining Rooms. He is also chef contributor to one of Prague’s leading food specialists Roman Vanek who wrote also a best selling cook book.

Published by
Chris Arkadieff
Tags: SB001
7 June 2020 1:34 PM