Perfect Buttermilk Fried Chicken

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The cornerstone of this recipe is the 2 cups of buttermilk.  Buttermilk adds such an infusion of flavor to almost anything, including chicken. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make your own.

Buttermilk is plentiful on Amish farms. It flavors cakes, donuts, and is a favorite for cooking certain meats in, like chicken.  Chicken is just one of those bountiful meats that are so available that a variety of ways to fix them is appreciated. And one of the ways in which Amish cooks like to prepare fried chicken is to pan fry it in buttermilk. Now, a real purest will say you have to make this meal in an iron skillet. Nothing like iron skillet fried chicken in buttermilk. But if you don’t have an iron skillet, it’ll work just as fine in stainless steel.

It’s interesting to me to see how different recipe ingredients have been adopted by Amish cooks over the years, cayenne pepper is definitely not historically in the Amish spice space. It’s origins are down in the bayou, but many Amish cooks enjoy a little bit of “kick “to their dishes and cayenne pepper is an easy option. You can definitely leave that out. I probably would be inclined to leave it in. But it’s totally up to you.

Many Amish cooks swear by the iron skillet's ability to transfer heat evenly and thoroughly.  Not to mention an infusion of iron!  The cayenne pepper in this recipe is an optional splash of flavor.

Cayenne pepper is historically Cajun, not Amish, but the spice has enjoyed popularity in Amish kitchens of late.  Enjoy!

This is a very basic recipe, with buttermilk being the star.

This is where you prepare the "buttermilk bath" for your chicken, fry it, and get perfect buttermilk fried chicken!

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• 🍗 Perfect Buttermilk Fried Chicken
• 📋 Instructions
• 🍗 More Amish Fried Chicken Recipes
• 🖨️ Full Recipe

🍗 Perfect Buttermilk Fried Chicken

For the buttermilk mixture:

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 ½ pounds chicken fryer or broiler
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

For the Flour Mixture:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cups canola or vegetable oil, for frying

📋 Instructions

1. Combine buttermilk, salt and pepper and other ingredients for the buttermilk mixture in a bowl.
2. Place chicken in a shallow container and pour mixture over top.
3. Cover and let stand for 4 to 8 hours.
4. Remove chicken. Discard buttermilk.
5. Combine all the ingredients for flour mixture in a bowl.
6. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, coating well.
7. Cook in hot oil (about 350 degrees F.) in a cast iron skillet until browned on one side (about 10- 12 minutes).
8. Turn and brown the other side for the same amount of time.
9. Make sure oil is not too hot that it burns the chicken.
10. Place on plate with paper towels and wait for it to cool.

🍗 More Amish Fried Chicken Recipes

KFC Copycat Fried Chicken - Wow!

Easy Amish Chicken Tenders - So good!

Amish Chicken in Gravy - Double wow!

Baked Chicken That Tastes Like Fried - Try this!

🖨️ Full Recipe