Afraid of fried chicken? Never fear, it is easier than you think! Not only is this Fried Kefir Battered Chicken super easy but you have never tasted such tender and moist chicken - it is delish!
What says, "southern" better than fried chicken? OK, maybe fried chicken and sweet tea.
At our house, birthdays are a BIG deal and a lot of fun. The birthday boy or girl picks the meal and it is complete with a decorated cake, ice cream and of course, presents.
I really try to give them the meal of choice and it has never been a problem until fried chicken was requested!
It was soooo much easier than I thought and the children loved the trial run!
After consulting many, many recipes for fried battered chicken, I decided to try combining a bunch of them and the results were fantastic - moist delicious fried chicken. Plus, we fried it outside so the house stayed cool!
Instructions
- Brining the chicken. In a large bowl combine the water and salt. Add the chicken, covering all pieces with brine solution, cover, and let sit in the fridge overnight. Brining the chicken is an important step to seal in the moisture so, don't skip it!
- Soak the chicken in kefir. In a large bowl mix together kefir, dry mustard, paprika, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional), and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper. Transfer chicken from the salt brine to the kefir batter, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- Prepare chicken for frying. Remove the chicken an hour before frying. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or large pot (filled halfway with oil) to 350F. In a bowl mix together flour, cornmeal, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional), and the rest of the black pepper. Remove chicken pieces from the marinade and dredge in flour mixture.
Tip: We have a fryer that we use to fry foods like doughnuts and fish and it works great! It is large enough to fry a dozen doughnuts at once - with our crew, that is important!
- Frying the chicken. Fry chicken in batches until golden brown and a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken reads 160F. It takes about 10 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.
- After frying. Remove the chicken from the fryer or skillet and lay it in a single layer on a cooling rack NOT stacked on paper towels - that will make it soggy.
Let me just say, one more time, this Fried Kefir Battered Chicken is super easy and the taste is absolutely delicious!
Side Dishes
If you are looking for some tasty sides to go with Fried Battered Chicken try one of these!
- Sauteed Green Beans - This is a delicious and healthy side of fresh green beans and garlic, served slightly crisp. Green beans are a great low calorie option filled with lots of fiber.
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes - A great alternative to mashed potatoes that is nutritious and so quick to make.
- Grilled Zucchini and Squash - It's a summer favorite to make when we have a ton of produce from our garden that gives our meal a pop of color.
- Oven Roasted Parmesan Asparagus - This is seriously the easiest side dish! It makes a quick and delicious addition to any meal.
Top Tips
- When brining the chicken, it actually soaks in some of the salt so, no salt is necessary for the flour used to dredge it before frying. It does take planning ahead to brine it, but trust me, the results are worth it.
- Be sure to have the oil very hot to fry in. Once you take one batch of chicken out, allow the oil to heat up again so you are putting the new batch into hot oil.
- When you are frying the chicken don't overcrowd the fryer. If you add too many pieces of chicken the temperature drops and you will lose some crispiness.
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📋 Recipe
Fried Kefir Battered Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon salt
- 4 lbs chicken drumsticks
- 2 cup kefir may use thinned yogurt or buttermilk
- 3 teaspoons dry mustard
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
- oil for frying
Instructions
To brine:
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In a large bowl, stir together 10 cups water and 2 tablespoon salt. Add the chicken covering all pieces with brine solution. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
To marinate:
-
In another bowl, whisk together kefir, 1 tablespoon salt, mustard, paprika, ½ cayenne pepper (if using) and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
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Transfer chicken from the salt brine to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
To cook:
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Remove the chicken from refrigerator an hour before frying - let stand at room temperature.
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Mix together flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon black pepper and ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (if using).
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Whether using a deep fryer or oil in heavy pot (filled halfway with oil), heat oil to 350F.
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Remove chicken from the marinade a few pieces at a time - do not shake off excess - dredge in flour mixture.
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Fry chicken in batches until golden brown and thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 160F. It takes about 10 minutes depending upon the size of pieces.
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Transfer to wire rack.
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Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Be sure to allow the oil to reheat between batches.
- Do not stack chicken on paper towel - this causes the crust to become soggy.
- The brining of the chicken is an important step to seal in the moisture so, don't skip it! It sounds really fancy but it is simply soaking the chicken in a salt bath.
- With the chicken, it actually soaks in some of the salt so, no salt is necessary in the flour used to dredge it before frying. It does take planning ahead to brine it, but trust me, the results are worth it.
Teri says
Looks soooo yummy! I love the combination of spices you used. This is a keeper. Pinned!
Emily Kemp says
What a great idea to use kefir, love your tips for soaking the chicken too I bet it makes a big difference!
JRlamp says
doesn't frying it kill all the health benefits of kefir?
Dina-Marie says
JRlamp, you are right, the frying does kill the probiotics in the kefir. But, while you do not receive the health benefit of the kefir when eating it, the bacterial action of the kefir works on the chicken while it marinates making it very moist. It is delicious!