Buttermilk Ranch Fried Chicken

If you’re going to the trouble of making fried chicken, make it special.

Most of the time, I like to focus on quick and easy recipes. I love coming up with new one-pot dinners and simpler versions of complicated dishes – especially if you can make them in the Crockpot. Anything to save you time.

But there are some recipes that there’s really no way to make quickly. Like, for instance, fried chicken. Oh, sure, you can bread it and bake it instead of frying it, but it’s just not the same as the real thing.

Real, tender, juicy, crunchy fried chicken is a dish that takes time. You have to dip each piece in flour and egg and flour again, and then fry them all in hot oil and keep turning them so they cook evenly. It’s quite a bit of work…but it’s sooooo worth it.

So if you’re going to go to all the trouble of making fried chicken anyway, you might as well go all out and make it extra special. Soaking the chicken in buttermilk for a good two hours – or better yet, overnight – gives you the crispest, juiciest chicken you’ve ever tasted. And adding my special ranch seasoning to the coating gives it a super flavor boost.

Buttermilk Ranch Fried Chicken…because a special meal deserves a special recipe.

Buttermilk Ranch Fried Chicken

(printable recipe at bottom of post) 

INGREDIENTS:

1 quart buttermilk
8-10 chicken pieces (drum sticks, breast, thighs)
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoon paprika
1 packed of dry ranch dressing mix (1 oz) or 3 TBs of my DIY Ranch Mix
Peanut Oil, for frying
extra salt and pepper for taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place chicken in a large bowl, and cover with buttermilk. Cover and chill for at least two hours, or overnight. If you are rushed on time, this step can be skipped, but it makes for the crispiest, juiciest chicken.

2. In a large bowl, add eggs, and water. Whisk until well combined.

In a large gallon freezer bag or large bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and 1 packed of dry ranch dressing mix. Mix together.

3. Remove chicken from buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Working in batches, place chicken pieces in freezer bag or bowl and evenly coat each piece with flour mixture.

As your remove chicken from flour mixture, make sure to shake off any excess flour. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, and return to flour mixture for a second time. Fully coats each piece of chicken for a second time.

4. Allow chicken to rest for 10 -15 minutes. This helps the flour stick to the chicken. Heat oil in a deep pan to 350 degrees. Working in batches, drop each piece of chicken into the hot oil.

5. Fry for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasional. To keep chicken warm while frying in batches, I like to place my fried chicken in an oven warmed to 225 degrees.

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5 from 2 votes

Buttermilk Ranch Fried Chicken

This Buttermilk Ranch Fried Chicken recipe is a blue ribbon winner. Moist, juicy chicken coated in a crispy, zesty ranch skin. It's the best fried chicken!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Serves:8

Hover over "serves" value to reveal recipe scaler

Calories:591

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Author:Corey Valley

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Ingredients

• 1 quart buttermilk
• 8-10 chicken pieces drum sticks, breast, thighs
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 packed of dry ranch dressing mix 1 oz or 3 TB of my DIY Ranch mix
• Peanut Oil for frying
• extra salt and pepper for taste

Instructions

• Place chicken in a large bowl, and cover with buttermilk. Cover and chill for at least two hours, or overnight. If you are rushed on time, this step can be skipped, but it makes for the crispiest, juiciest chicken.
• In a large bowl, add eggs, and water. Whisk until well combined. In a large gallon freezer bag or large bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and 1 packed of dry ranch dressing mix. Mix together.
• Remove chicken from buttermilk and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Working in batches, place chicken pieces in freezer bag or bowl and evenly coat each piece with flour mixture.
• As your remove chicken from flour mixture, make sure to shake off any excess flour. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, and return to flour mixture for a second time. Fully coats each piece of chicken for a second time.
• Allow chicken to rest for 10 -15 minutes. This helps the flour stick to the chicken. Heat oil in a deep pan to 350 degrees. Working in batches, drop each piece of chicken into the hot oil.
• Fry for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasional. To keep chicken warm while frying in batches, I like to place my fried chicken in an oven warmed to 225 degrees.

Recipe Notes:

Note: Calories will vary depending on how much oil is used during frying

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Nutrition Information:

Calories: 591kcal (30%)Carbohydrates: 57g (19%)Protein: 34g (68%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 8g (40%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 161mg (54%)Sodium: 943mg (39%)Potassium: 486mg (14%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 695IU (14%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 171mg (17%)Iron: 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Disclaimer

Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Course:Dinner

Cuisine:chicken, Family Favorite

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