‹ The Fried Chicken 100 › Mason

No. 2 in the world · November 2026

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

Highway 70, Mason, Tennessee · Mason, United States

Southern fried chickenNo. 2
A photo like it · milo-photo (CC BY 2.0) (Southern fried chicken, not from Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken) · source

The one piece to order

Three pieces of dark meat, with the baked beans and slaw

The line to expect: Lunch rushes from Memphis on weekends. Beat it: a weekday right at opening.

The original shop, an hour from Memphis, where the ruddy, peppery crust was worked out in the 1950s. There are 40 Gus's now; this is the one people drive to.

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Make it at home

Buttermilk Southern fried chicken

Buttermilk Southern fried chicken

Overnight brine, 1 hr to fry · 4 to 6 (one 1.6 kg / 3 1/2 lb chicken). The one most of the chart is built on: chicken soaked overnight in seasoned buttermilk, dredged in peppery flour with a few spoonfuls of the buttermilk worked in for craggy bits, and fried low and slow so it's cooked to the bone with a crust that cracks.

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Fried chicken near it

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Checked November 11, 2026. Hours and lines change; check before you cross town.

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