Crispy Oven Fried Chicken Recipe - The Secret Ingredients Revealed (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to crispy chicken? ›

Just a little cornstarch added to the flour mixture for fried chicken makes for a more tender and crisp crust. The starch in the cornstarch and flour work in tandem to hold the coating together and make it super dry and crispy once fried.

But the baking powder is key, because it acts like a salt. It helps draw moisture to the surface, where it can evaporate. Since they have similar reactions, we typically combine baking powder and table salt to amplify this effect, resulting in extra-crispiness.

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.)

You can also get a nice crust on chicken by starting it out in the oven: follow your recipe, or heat the oven to between 400° to 450°F, place a rack in the top third (the hottest part) of the oven, and slide a pan of chicken pieces in, skin side up. The skin will be crisp by the time the chicken is cooked through.

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.

Lard is a great choice for frying chicken because it gives your chicken an excellent flavor and unparalleled crispy crust.

To reheat fried chicken in the oven, the best method is to turn the oven on high and bake it fast. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and place room-temperature leftovers on a wire rack set on a baking sheet. The wire rack helps hot air circulate to crisp up the underside of the chicken.

Step 3: Add butter or duck fat under the skin

Next, slide butter or duck fat underneath the skins surface then prick the skin's surface multiple times with a pin. This technique will cook the poultry from the inside out keeping it moist and flavoursome, while the butter or duck fat oozes out to crisp up the skin.

Proper cooling sets the crust and ensures that the chicken will have done all its carryover cooking. I like to cool any leftover chicken completely and then store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs condensation and keeps that chicken crisp for midnight snacking.

Cornstarch typically makes for a crispier finish than flour. Cornstarch absorbs moisture from the food and expands, giving deep-fried foods a crispy coating. When the food is fried, the moisture cooks out of the cornstarch, leaving a crackly, puffy coating on the outside.

What happens if I put cornstarch on chicken? ›

Cornstarch and high heat mean super-crispy chicken every time. Before cooking, toss the chicken in cornstarch until completely coated. When the cornstarch hits the hot oil, something magic happens and your chicken with gorgeously golden, crispy edges.

Both can! Cornstarch creates a dry coating that crisps up beautifully when fried. Baking powder can also add some lift and a light crunch, especially when mixed with cornstarch.

Rub with Salt and Baking Powder

Both substances pull moisture out of the skin. But baking powder has additional powers. It prods some of the skin's proteins and fat to break down, which, combined with its alkalinity, accelerates the Maillard reaction, for skin that browns and crisps more quickly.

Interestingly, cornstarch contains 25 to 28 percent amylose, which is higher than the amount in wheat or potato starch (which are 20 to 22 percent amylose), and this is why cornstarch works the best for making crispy coatings on fried foods.

“Put a little schmear of vegetable oil and because there is no water in it, the heat from the oven immediately begins to crisp up the skin and you don't end up with steam coming off the skin,” he says. Slow and steady when roasting.

According to a 2020 study, woody chicken breast has higher amounts of connective tissue than normal breast meat, which can make the meat tough. The increased growth rate of chickens may be the cause of both this and white striping.

Michael says that cornstarch or rice flour in combo with flour will give you the crunchiest batter. Even cake four will cook up crunchier than all-purpose flour because it doesn't have a high gluten level. Michael does warn that these alternative coatings will brown less than all-purpose flour.

KFC deep fries its chicken for 15 minutes and then drains the oil off for another five minutes – 20 minutes in total. If you don't have a deep fryer, heat up plenty of oil in a large saucepan and do it that way.