Cast Iron Crispy Fried Chicken

Name: Cast Iron Crispy Fried Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 2 cups vegetable shortening; 1 chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces; 2 cups buttermilk; 1 cup flour; 2 eggs; 1/4 cup milk; 2 tbsp paprika; 2 tbsp salt; 2 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tsp cayenne

March 30, 2019

One of the best ways to season a cast iron pan is to fry things with it, and a great recipe to use to instantly season the pan is fried chicken.

Fried chicken recipe flavors vary somewhat- for this recipe I’ve used a buttermilk marinade for the chicken, and a mix of cayenne and paprika in my flour breading.

I’ve found that there are two tricks to increase the crispiness of the chicken, and I’ve used both in this recipe- I dredge the chicken through the alternating egg flour mixtures twice to increase the amount of breading that sticks to each piece of chicken. Then I actually fry the chicken twice, once at 325 to reach the proper internal temperature, and then a second fry at a slightly higher oil temperature.

I find the hardest part of this recipe is maintaining the temperature of the vegetable shortening/oil as you add the cold pieces of chicken, so I recommend the use of an instant-read meat thermometer.

8 servings

10 mins

20 mins

30 mins

Ingredients

2 cups vegetable shortening
1 chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne

Equipment

Instructions

The day before you want to serve the chicken, place the chicken pieces into a large ziploc bag and cover with buttermilk. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Melt the vegetable shortening in a cast iron skillet on low heat until it's about 1/3 of an inch deep. Use a meat thermometer to bring the shortening to 325°F.
In one large bowl, mix the flour, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and paprika.
In a second bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.
Drain the buttermilk from the chicken in a colander.
Taking one piece of chicken at a time, dredge it in the egg mixture, then roll it in the flour mixture to coat.
For an extra crispy crust, repeat the dredge: dip in the egg mixture and roll in the flour mixture a second time. Place each piece into the hot shortening, using a meat thermometer to maintain the temperature as you add the chicken.
After about 5 minutes, use tongs to rotate the chicken pieces to ensure they cook evenly.
Fry each piece for about 10 to 12 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the thickest part of each piece; it should read 165°F.
As each piece is cooked, transfer it to a wire rack to rest.
Once all the chicken has been fried, increase the temperature of the shortening in the skillet to 350°F and fry each piece for another 2-3 minutes for maximum crispiness.
Allow to rest on the wire rack to drip excess oil and then serve hot.