No.44 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Southern fried chicken

Name: Southern fried chicken
Yield: 4 to 6
Ingredients: One 3 1/2-lb (1.6 kg) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or 3 1/2 lb thighs and drumsticks); For the brine: 1 quart (1 L) cold water and 1/4 cup (70 g) kosher salt; 2 cups (480 ml) buttermilk; 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour; 2 tsp fine salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika; For frying: 1 lb (450 g) lard, 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter and a 2 oz (55 g) piece of country ham or bacon (or 6 cups peanut oil)

Made famous by Edna Lewis

Photo: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From The Taste of Country Cooking, 1976.

Fried chicken is the South's Sunday dinner and America's most loved fried food. Edna Lewis's way, brined and fried in lard and butter, is the one chefs still cite.

4 to 6Makes

1 hour plus overnight briningTime

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in The Taste of Country Cooking.

Brine the chicken, soak it in buttermilk, dredge it in seasoned flour and fry it in a heavy pan. Lard, butter and a little country ham give the flavor Edna Lewis wrote about.

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Ingredients

One 3 1/2-lb (1.6 kg) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or 3 1/2 lb thighs and drumsticks)
For the brine: 1 quart (1 L) cold water and 1/4 cup (70 g) kosher salt
2 cups (480 ml) buttermilk
1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp fine salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika
For frying: 1 lb (450 g) lard, 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter and a 2 oz (55 g) piece of country ham or bacon (or 6 cups peanut oil)

Steps

Stir the salt into the water until dissolved. Add the chicken and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.
Drain, rinse and pat dry. Put the chicken in the buttermilk and refrigerate 1 to 8 hours.
Melt the lard and butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with the ham over medium heat. Cook 15 minutes, until the ham is brown and has flavored the fat, then remove it. The fat should be about 1/2 inch deep; heat it to 335F.
Mix the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bag or shallow dish. Lift the chicken from the buttermilk, let it drip, and dredge it well, pressing to coat.
Add the dark meat first, skin side down, then the breasts and wings, without crowding. The fat should bubble steadily around the pieces at 300 to 325F.
Fry 8 to 10 minutes, until deep golden underneath, then turn and fry 8 to 10 minutes more. Breasts and wings are done at 160F, thighs and drumsticks at 175F.
Drain on a rack over paper towels. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Chef's tips

Keep a thermometer in the fat; it drops sharply when the chicken goes in.
Strain and save the fat for frying potatoes.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis: get the book, No. 14 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

← No. 43Buffalo wings

→ No. 45Buttermilk biscuits

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