Oven Fried Chicken Recipe (Super Crispy & So Easy!) - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to getting crispy chicken? ›

Double Dredge

The best way to ensure the breading will stay on the chicken is to double down on the flour. This creates a super thick, extra crispy coating on your chicken. After dredging the chicken in seasoned flour, dip it into an egg wash and place it back into the flour.

That trick is a sprinkling of baking powder, and it'll get you the crispiest, crackliest bites of fatty, salty skin imaginable, whether you're cooking just one thigh, a plate of wings, or an entire bird. Baking powder, it turns out, is good for quite a lot more than baking.

Low Temperature: Baking chicken at too low a temperature can result in a lack of crispiness. To achieve crispy chicken skin, bake the chicken at a higher temperature, typically between 375°F to 425°F (190°C to 220°C), depending on the recipe and the size of the chicken pieces.

Although paper towels are commonly used to absorb the excess oil, placing the hot, cooked chicken on a paper towel will cause the crust to steam and turn soggy. Instead, let the chicken rest on a wire cooling rack set over a paper towel or baking sheet to collect the grease.

The best way to keep fried foods crispy? Just place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. If you're frying multiple batches, throw the whole setup into a low oven to keep everything warm as you keep frying and adding to the rack.

In order to get crispy wings without frying, you need to dry out the skin. That's where a coating of baking powder and salt comes in. The baking powder and salt help break down the proteins in the skin, draw moisture to the surface, and also aid in browning.

My not-so-secret tip to the best fried chicken is a combination of FLOUR, CORNSTARCH, and BAKING POWDER. When mixed with the flour, the cornstarch makes the flour coating crispier and gives it that golden brown color! (It has to do with prevention of gluten development.)

The baking powder raises the pH of the surface, allowing it to crisp better*), and tossing in plain cornstarch to absorb some surface moisture and create a rougher texture for the batter to adhere to. *See more on the science of baking powder and chicken wings in this article on oven-fried buffalo wings.

Substitute each teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder in the recipe with 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) vinegar. Summary: Each teaspoon (5 grams) of baking powder can be replaced with a 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda and a 1/2 teaspoon vinegar.

How do you keep chicken crispy in the oven? ›

Baking with a wire rack: Achieve optimal crispiness by baking your food on a wire rack. Unlike traditional baking directly on a tray, where the bottom might become soggy due to trapped moisture, the wire rack facilitates 360-degree air circulation around the entire food item, allowing any excess moisture to escape.

If you crank your oven to at least 450°F and position a rack in the top third (the hottest part) of your oven and slide some chicken in there skin-side-up, the skin will be crisp by the time the chicken is cooked through. To help it out, baste it a couple times while it roasts with pan-drippings, butter, or oil.

You Don't Start Dry

The first step to breading chicken is crucial; make sure the chicken is completely dry before starting the dredging process. Using a paper towel, pat the meat dry on all sides. Excess moisture will cause the flour to get soggy and thus will not adhere properly to the chicken.

Do you do egg or flour first for fried chicken? No eggs are used in this recipe, because it's not needed. Instead I use a mild hot sauce as a binder, and it works wonderfully! If you're not a fan of using hot sauce you can indeed use two lightly beaten eggs as a binder.

The chicken is then air-dried for 10 to 12 hours before being flash-fried, then oil-poached. The skin gets its signature crispiness from 10 to 12 minutes of basting with scalding hot oil right before serving.

The secret to succulent fried chicken starts with a marinade or brine, which keeps the chicken at its peak juiciness. Fried chicken traditionalists generally choose a buttermilk marinade while others swear by a brine, which is a mixture of sugar, salt and sometimes spices dissolved into water.

If the oil isn't hot enough when you start frying the chicken, the chicken will absorb too much oil and won't get crispy. You want to make sure that the oil is at the right temperature before you start frying the chicken. The ideal temperature for frying chicken is around 350°F.