Amazing Southern Fried Chicken Recipe and Side Dish

A classic known around the world cuisine is the classic Southern fried chicken.  There are many secret recipes floating around for this, but this recipe is an amazing version with a hint of a spicy taste.  

We’ll also include a recipe for Zucchini Fritters that would fit as a side dish, like a glove to a hand.  Add a vegetable, a side salad and roll, and you have a classic, Southern meal. 

You will want to plan to prepare the Southern friend chicken, a day before you intend to cook it because you will be using a marinade method.  You will want to use cut, bone in chicken, with skin on. 

Amazing Southern Fried Chicken Recipe 

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, halved
• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 drumsticks
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying 

Marinade

• 4 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoons white pepper 

Add all ingredients for the marinade into a large bowl and whisk well.  Add the cut up chicken (if you need to add a bit more water you can), cover and refrigerate 24 hours.  You will want to stir and turn the chicken in the marinade once or twice during this period of time. 

When ready to cook, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Cover a baking sheet with a thin layer of flour, and prepare another baking sheet lined with paper towels. 

Take chicken out of the marinade and pat dry with the paper towels.  You can toss out the marinade now.  Coat a few pieces of chicken at a time in the flour mix, set on the floured cooking sheet and allow resting for 10 minutes, completing all chicken the same way.

After 10 minutes, again roll into the flour mix and set on the floured baking sheet and allow it to set another 10 minutes.  This helps to ensure a uniform coating and reduce splattering when frying. 

Heat up vegetable oil over medium heat to 365 – 375 degrees.  It’s a good idea to use a thermometer to be sure the temperature is correct.  Too hot or too cool with the oil and the chicken will not turn out correct. 

You can use either a standard frying pan, but make sure the oil with the chicken in it, doesn’t go over half way up the pan for safety.  You can also use one of those cool deep fryers available that work great. 

Gently place 3 or 4 pieces of chicken (or what the fryer can safely handle), but be sure not to overcrowd them.   Fry, turning a few times for about 20 minutes until the skin is browned and the juice is clear when the thicket part of a piece of chicken is poked. 

Transfer to the paper towel lined baking sheet, while finishing frying the rest of the chicken pieces.  You can keep the cooked chicken warm, by placing the baking sheet in a slightly warm oven while the rest is cooking. 

If you find this too spicy, the next batch either cut in half, or eliminate totally the cayenne pepper.

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb. zucchini, grated
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ c. minced onion
• ½ cup plain dried bread crumbs
• ½ cup panko bread crumbs (Japanese style bread crumbs)
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tablespoons fresh basil
• 2 Tablespoons whipping cream or half and half
• 1 Tablespoon minced jalapeno chili
• 1 Tablespoon fresh mint
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 3 – 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• Black pepper to taste 

Optional Sour Cream Sauce for Topping

Ingredients

• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon mint, fresh chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt 

Make the sour cream topping a couple hours ahead of time by mixing all together in a bowl, and then putting in the refrigerator. 

Place the grated zucchini in a sieve, salt with 1 teaspoon of the salt and toss.  Set the colander in a bowl and allow it to drain for 30 minutes, and then squeeze excess water out gently with your hands. 

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. 

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy in texture.  Add onion, both types of bread crumbs, whipping cream or half and half, and all remaining ingredients, except the zucchini.  Once this is well mixed, gently add the zucchini. 

Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat.  Use ¼ cup of the batter for each fritter and make a small pancake shape.  Fry 4-6 minutes, turning over once until each fritter is browned.  You can keep the fritters warmed in the low temp oven, while cooking the rest of the batch. 

Place the cooked fritters on a serving plate, spice with the pepper and drizzle the sour cream topping, and then serve.