Why would you treat your family in a restaurant for a tasty fried chicken if you can do it at home? Don’t worry, you’re in the right place to make the best Southern Fried Chicken recipe. You’ll be surprised how tasty, tender and juicy your fried chicken will turn out. The whole family will definitely choose your homemade Southern Fried Chicken over your local restaurant, any day.

The Best Fried Chicken Recipe

Best Fried Chicken Ingredients:

2 family-size tea bags

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt

1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, halved

1 tablespoon cracked black pepper

2 cups ice cubes

1 (3 1/2-lb.) cut-up whole chicken

2 cups self-rising flour

1 cup self-rising white cornmeal mix

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons table salt

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

Vegetable oil

Fried Chicken Ingredients:

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan; add tea bags. Remove from heat; cover and steep 10 minutes.
2. Discard tea bags. Stir in brown sugar and next 5 ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool completely (about 45 minutes); stir in ice. (Mixture should be cold before adding to chicken.)
3. Cut chicken breasts in half crosswise. Place tea mixture and all chicken pieces in a large ziploc plastic freezer bag; seal. Place bag in a shallow baking dish, and chill 24 hours.
4. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Drain chicken well.
5. Whisk together flour and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Spoon 1 cup flour mixture in a brown paper bag or large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Place one piece of chicken in the bag. Seal and shake to coat. Remove chicken, and transfer to a wire rack. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, adding more flour mixture to bag as needed. Let chicken stand 30 minutes to form a crust.
6. Pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a cast-iron Dutch oven; heat over medium heat to 325°. Fry chicken, in batches, 15 to 22 minutes or until browned and done, turning occasionally. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels.

Note: If using a 12-inch-wide (2 1/4-inch-deep) cast-iron skillet, pour oil to a depth of 1 inch.

The whole process yields at least 8 servings of delicious Southern Fried Chicken. You’ll definitely enjoy the moist, tender and crisp crust. Surprise your loved ones today and express your love through a sumptuous fried chicken treat!

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