Chicken Fried Chicken

This Southern style Chicken Fried Chicken recipe is drizzled with a homemade peppered milk pan gravy. Pair it with creamy mashed potatoes, a skillet of Southern succotash and a basket filled with fresh from the oven buttermilk biscuits and it’s a feast. Don’t forget the sweet tea to wash it all down and for dessert? Why pound cake, of course.

What is Chicken Fried Chicken?

Classic Southern fried chicken is made with bone-in chicken pieces from a whole bird. This fried chicken is made with boneless skinless chicken pieces (cutlets) usually chicken breasts, but occasionally thighs as well. It’s widely believed by food historians that this dish actually evolved from chicken fried steak. The story goes, that German immigrants who settled in Texas, brought with them a classic Austrian dish called Wiener schnitzel made with thinly pounded pieces of veal. Settling in Texas where beef was abundant they used the same technique adapted to beef. Fast forward to this century when chicken is in abundance and country cooks began making it using boneless skinless chicken cutlets, similar to chicken fried steak. Regardless of origin, this fried chicken recipe is country cooking at it’s finest and it’s not difficult to prepare.

Ingredients to Make Chicken Fried Chicken Recipe

This crispy chicken drizzled with a white gravy, is Southern comfort food personified. Ingredients to make Southern Chicken Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy: (Scroll down for full printable recipe card.)

• Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts.
• Breading: The breading for this recipe includes all purpose flour, crushed Saltine crackers, seasoned salt, smoked paprika, granulated garlic and onion powder. The crushed cracker crumbs add a light crunch to the breading.
• Milk: One cup buttermilk and large eggs add moisture and helps the breading adhere.
• Oil: Peanut or vegetable oil for frying.
• Chicken Gravy: All-purpose flour, pan drippings, ground black pepper, salt, evaporated milk, whole milk plus additional as needed to thin. The combination of milk adds a rich flavor to the milk gravy.

Best Oil for Frying Chicken

What oil is best for frying chicken? This always depends on the preference of the cook, but this recipe will work well with vegetable oil or peanut oil for frying.

How to Make the Best Chicken Fried Chicken Recipe

• Prepare Chicken Breasts – Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to about 1/2-inches for uniform thickness. Season on both sides with seasoned salt and black pepper.
• Dry Ingredients – Sift together the flour, cracker crumbs, seasoned salt, tsp onion powder, tsp garlic powder and smoked paprika. Set aside.
• Wet Ingredients – Whisk together the buttermilk and eggs.
• Dredge Chicken – Dip the chicken pieces into the seasoned flour, then into the egg wash, then back into the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess.
• Refrigerate – Place onto a baking pan in a single layer. Refrigerate to set the coating.
• Prepare Pan – Preheat the oven to 350°F and fit a baking rack into a rimmed baking pan.
• Heat Oil – Heat 1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil in a large 12-inch cast iron skillet or similar.
• Cook – Brown the chicken frying in batches. Place chicken on the rack and into the oven baking until the juices run clear.
• Make Gravy – Add the flour to the chicken drippings stirring constantly over medium high heat scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the salt and black pepper to season the roux.
• Whisk in Milk – Gradually whisk in milk. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
• Simmer – Lower the heat and allow the gravy to gently simmer for several minutes.
• Serve – Serve the milk gravy drizzled over the chicken fried chicken.

Tips for Making Chicken Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy

• Kitchen Tools You’ll Need: Deep large skillet, sheet pan, whisk, tongs, measuring cups and spoons and meat mallet, and wire rack.
• Frying Can I Use Bone-In Chicken Pieces? This recipe uses boneless chicken breasts. The advantage of using boneless chicken breasts, is that it cooks more quickly without the bone. There’s also no need to soak the chicken cutlets in milk prior to preparing.
• Even Thickness for Even Cooking: When preparing the chicken breasts for dredging, you’ll need to pound them using the smooth size of a meat tenderizer for uniform thickness and even cooking. They don’t need to be thin.
• What is Peppered Milk Gravy? It’s basically an easy pan gravy using milk that’s been generously seasoned with black pepper. When making it, you will want to scrape up all of that goodness left behind on the bottom of the skillet from frying the chicken breasts. This will give a boost to the flavor overall. You can adjust the amount of black pepper to suit your taste. You can also make chicken gravy with chicken broth.
• When to Serve: Serve this fried chicken for family dinners, entertaining or holiday meals.

Recipe Variations

• Chicken: You can make this recipe using chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• Milk: The combination of evaporated milk and whole milk adds depth of flavor to the milk gravy. You could use heavy cream or half and half, instead.
• Spices: You could season the chicken with Cajun seasoning in place of, or in addition to, salt and black pepper. You could also add cayenne pepper for spice.
• Herbs: You could add fresh chives or parsley as a garnish.

Storage and Leftovers

• Leftovers: Store Southern fried chicken with milk gravy in an airtight container chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Reheating: Reheat in an air fryer or a preheated 375°F oven for 6-8 minutes to crisp. Reheat the milk gravy in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Freezer Storage: Store frozen for up to 2 months and thaw in the refrigerator and reheat just before serving.

Southern Side Dishes to Serve with Fried Chicken and Milk Gravy

You can’t really go wrong serving this chicken with any of your favorite sides. These are some favorite Southern side dishes that pair particularly well with fried chicken that you may like to try:

• Homestyle Green Beans and Potatoes when cooked together always hits the spot.
• Southern Bacon Dill Deviled Eggs add another dimension of color and texture to the plate.
• A fresh crunchy batch of Homestyle Cole Slaw.
• Sweet Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob is a must during garden season.
• Creamy Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes will be the perfect foundation for the creamy peppered milk pan gravy.
• Fluffy Southern Buttermilk Biscuits brushed with melted butter.
• Country style Turnip Greens from The Loveless Café.

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

• 12-inch Skillet
• Measuring Set
• Whisks
• Sheet Pan with Rack

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

4.80 from 5 votes

Chicken Fried Chicken

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: chicken-fried-chicken-with-peppered-milk-gravy, fried-chicken-recipes, southern-chicken-gravy-recipe

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 419kcal

Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

• 6 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup crushed saltine crackers crumbs or panko breadcrumbs
• 1½ tsp seasoned salt
• 1½ tsp onion powder
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• Peanut or vegetable oil for frying
• Gravy:
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp pan drippings
• 1 tsp ground black pepper divided (Adjust to your taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 14 oz can evaporated milk
• 1 cup whole milk plus additional as needed to thin

Instructions

• Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to about 1/2-inches for uniform thickness. Season on both sides with seasoned salt and black pepper.
• Set Up Dredging Station:

  1st – Sift together the flour, cracker crumbs, 1½ tsp seasoned salt, 1½ tsp onion powder, 1½ tsp garlic powder and smoked paprika. Set aside.

  2nd – Whisk together the buttermilk and eggs.
• Dip the chicken pieces into the seasoned flour, then into the egg wash, then back into the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess.
• Place onto a baking pan in a single layer. Refrigerate uncovered for 15 minutes or up to 1 hour to allow the breading to set.
• To prepare: Preheat the oven to 350°F and fit a baking rack into a rimmed baking pan.
• Heat 1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil in a large 12-inch cast iron skillet or similar.
• Brown the chicken about 2 minutes per side. Repeat frying in batches with all 6 pieces.
• Place browned chicken onto the rack and into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the juices run clear.
• Make Gravy: Discard all but 4 Tbsp of the drippings.
• Add the flour to the drippings stirring constantly over medium high heat scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. .Add the salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
• Gradually add the evaporated and regular milk whisking constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and allow the gravy to gently simmer for 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt to your taste. Thin further with additional milk, if needed.
• Serve the milk gravy drizzled over the chicken fried chicken and garnish with remaining black pepper.(Adjust the amount to your taste)

Notes

• Chicken: You can make this recipe using chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• Milk: The combination of evaporated milk and whole milk adds depth of flavor to the milk gravy. You could use heavy cream or half and half, instead.
• Spices: You could season the chicken with Cajun seasoning in place of, or in addition to, salt and black pepper. You could also add cayenne pepper for spice.
• Herbs: You could add fresh chives or parsley as a garnish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1piece | Calories: 419kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 859mg | Potassium: 214mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 375IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 3.2mg

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