This is the crispiest pan fried chicken thighs and legs you will ever make. The secret to this is coating the outside with cornstarch for crispy skin and the juiciest meat in the center. Get out your cast iron skillet and let’s get started!
Years ago I shared how to make the best Fried Chicken Cutlets but it was time to share how to make something similar with bone-in legs and thighs. Using a similar concept of battering and frying until crispy, let us share a few tips and tricks to getting the juiciest bite!
What’s the trick to the cooking the crispiest fried chicken?
There are 4 things you need to remember when it comes to cooking thighs or Fried Chicken Legs (with Flour) and cornstarch. Tip 1 – To start this process and before dipping your pieces in the dry mixture and then the wet batter you need to pat the skin dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.
Tip 2 – Before dipping in any batter you need to have the oil heated properly so it can be transferred from the wet batter to the oil and immediately fry. Not hot enough and it will be absorbed in which will prevent it from getting crispy (and soak in for an oily taste), too hot and it will burn before the meat can cook all the way thru. How Hot Should Oil be for Fried Chicken? 360 degrees F is perfect!
My Tip 3 – Allow the excess batter to drip off before laying in the pan with the hot oil. You don’t want an excess or it will slough off when fried and will be thicker than it should be which means, not as crispy.
And the final Tip 4 – After you have checked to ensure the meat has reached a safe 165F inside you want to set on several paper towels to absorb as much excess oil off the outside as possible. Leave it there for 5 minutes to remove and rest before digging in to achieve the crispiest fried chicken ever!!
How Long to Pan Fry Chicken Thighs
If you have your oil at the ideal 350-370 F. With bone in legs and thighs (separated) it will take about 20-25 minutes to heat all the way thru. Both take the same amount of cook time so it is easy to buy a mixture and allow your family to choose either white or dark meat!
However, if you first started with our Pressure Cooker Fried Chicken you will need a lot less time to fry, closer to 3-5 minutes to reach the ideal crunch on the outside.
Pan Fried Chicken Breast
We go over How Long to Deep Fry Chicken Breast here. If you are using small boneless skinless chicken breasts I would use the same timing as below. However with bone-in or large pieces you may need to add another 5 minutes.
Fried Chicken Leg Quarters
If your thighs and legs are still connected those are called Chicken Leg Quarters. You don’t have to separate them if you don’t want to. Instead you could prepare the same way but you could only fit 1-2 in your skillet over medium high heat at a time. It will take closer to 25-30 minutes since they are much larger to fry too.
How to Pan Fry Fried Chicken
You are going to want to choose a pan that can withstand a lot of heat filled with hot oil over medium high heat. That is why cast iron is what I recommend for your hot skillet. If you wanted to deep fry and submerge your pieces you would need a Dutch Oven instead, either one works.
If you use a shallower pan and it is only filled halfway you will need to cook the chicken halfway and then rotate it to crisp both sides. When checking the internal temperature remove the piece away from the heat source before inserting a meat thermometer to get the most accurate read.
Pan Fried Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pan deep cast iron or use Dutch Oven to deep fry
- 2 bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3/4 cup water, cold
- 3 pounds chicken, legs and thighs used
- vegetable oil, about 9 cups or enough to fill half of the pan
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, baking powder and black pepper and mix well.
- Remove 3/4 of the flour mixture and place it into a separate bowl. Add cold water to the remaining flour mixture and whisk well until it's the consistency of pancake batter. If necessary, add a little more water.
- In a large cast iron pan or dutch oven, add vegetable oil and heat it to 360 degrees.
- Pat pieces of meat with a few paper towels to dry the outsides well. Dredge chicken into the dry flour mixture and then into the batter, letting excess drip before carefully placing it into the hot oil. Make sure the oil covers the chicken completely.
- Fry for 20-25 minutes or internal temperature is 165 degrees. If pan is only half full of oil, rotate pieces over to the other side halfway thru to crisp both sides. Remove from oil, drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil and make as crispy as possible, let stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you reheat fried chicken to be crispy again?
Reheating Chicken in Air Fryer is the only way I would recommend. If you add after the machine has been preheated you can get rid of that icky slimy feeling in just a few minutes!
You could use the oven on the broiler setting to get a similar result to our Bisquick Oven Fried Chicken but it isn’t as crispy as the above method and takes quite a bit longer.
