This recipe is absolutely delicious with perfectly fried chicken.
There is something about Sundays in our house that just warrant fried chicken. I wake up almost every Sunday morning thinking about fried chicken and as the day wears on, the craving for chicken only gets stronger. We have tried a lot of fried chicken from various restaurants and even grocery stores and have a couple of favorites but there really is nothing better than homemade fried chicken.
The first time I made this recipe, I had an extra three kids at the house. I thought it wasn’t going to go well but luckily all the kids played well together and got along (and left me alone) so I could make this recipe. It’s incredibly simple to make but when you refuse to use a deep fryer like I do, then it takes a bit longer to use your smallest saucepan so that you don’t have to do so many dishes. Complicated and confusing, I know.
There is just something about having to clean a lot of dishes or big huge dish pieces that always makes me choose the more complicated way of making food. It is ridiculous, I know. It would make way more sense to just use the deep fryer but that thing is so hard to clean. It’s the same reason I choose to shred chicken with two forks instead of actually saving a lot of time by using the KitchenAid and the paddle to shred the chicken which is easier and faster. But the fact that I have to wash the big KitchenAid bowl stops me from using it most of the time.
This chicken is something I have made multiple times and it is delicious every single time. It is crunchy and full of flavor. The kids devour it and sometimes I even put it on salad with hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and avocado. Mmm, so delicious.
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1/2 tablespooon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 cups oil for frying
- Combine the paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
- Combine milk and vinegar. Let sit for about 5 minutes. This creates a buttermilk.
- Whisk the buttermilk (milk + vinegar), egg, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture in a large bowl. Transfer the ingredients of the bowl to a gallon-sized zipper-lock freezer bag. Place the chicken into the bag and make sure the chicken is mixed well into the mixture. Let sit for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, however, you may also let sit for shorter amounts of time, the flavor will just not be as strong.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and the remaining spice mixture in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the marinade from the zipper-lock bag and work it into the flour with your fingertips. Remove the chicken from the bag, allowing the excess buttermilk to drip off. Drop the chicken into the flour mixture and toss and flip until thoroughly coated, pressing with your hand to get the flour to adhere in a thick layer. Shake the chicken over the bowl to remove excess flour, then transfer to a large plate.
- Heat oil to 350°F. Fry each chicken strip for 8-10 minutes, until done. Flip the chicken strips when about half way done.
- When cooked, transfer the chicken to a paper towel–lined plate to drain for 30 seconds, flipping once, then transfer to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to a oven heated to 175°F to keep warm.
- Repeat the cooking instructions until all chicken is cooked.
