Louisiana Fried Chicken
on Dec 04, 2023, Updated Apr 24, 2025
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This Louisiana Fried Chicken is juicy, crispy, and so easy to make! A southern classic featuring buttermilk-soaked drumsticks with a flavorful paprika and garlic seasoning blend that brings the taste of New Orleans right to your kitchen. It’s a quick and flavorful comfort meal you have to try!
🍗 Whether you’re hosting a backyard gathering, Sunday family dinner, or just craving comfort food on a weeknight, this Louisiana fried chicken fits the bill!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Louisiana Fried Chicken
- Buttermilk Soak: While my recipe allows for just a quick dip in buttermilk, you’ll get even better results by letting your chicken soak for 2-24 hours in the refrigerator. The longer soak allows the acids in the buttermilk to tenderize the meat more thoroughly and infuse it with flavor. If you’re short on time, even 30 minutes will make a difference compared to no soak at all, but if I’m thinking ahead I will let it have the full 24 hours!
- Help Coating Stick: Here are my hard and fast rules for cooking anything with a breaded coating! First, after dredging in flour, let the chicken rest on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes so the coating can adhere better. Second, make sure your oil is properly heated to 350° before adding the chicken. Finally, avoid turning the chicken too frequently while frying—give it time to set before flipping!
🩷 Melissa
There are many different ways to make fried chicken, but I love the simplicity of the seasonings that we use for Louisiana chicken.
The key spice is paprika! It’s smoky, a little sweet, and gives your finished fried chicken an authentic Southern flavor.
I typically pair this buttermilk chicken with some homemade biscuits, mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies. But, you can serve it with really any fruit, veggie, or starch you have on hand.
Believe it or not, this Louisiana chicken is a quick meal that comes together in less than an hour. It’s a really simple dish, too. The most complicated part of this Louisiana chicken recipe is figuring out who gets the last piece!
Louisiana Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken drumsticks
- 1 cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Combine the drumsticks and buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Fold the ingredients a few times to ensure the chicken is fully coated in the buttermilk.
- Whisk together the flour, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Once combined, dip each piece of chicken in the flour mixture.
- Heat the oil in a large pot and bring it to about 350°F. Cook 3 pieces of chicken at a time for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer pink in the middle.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- To add a little kick to your chicken, you can use additional spices such as red pepper flakes, cayenne chili powder, and onion powder.
- In addition to using drumsticks you can also use bone-in chicken thighs or wings. Using bone-in meat will provide added flavor to your dish!
- If you want extra-tender chicken, try marinating it in buttermilk for a few hours up to overnight in the fridge before you start cooking.
- This chicken is best served fresh but can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat your chicken in the microwave for about 45 seconds. It’s important to note that the chicken will not be as crispy when reheated in the microwave.
- If you have an air fryer you can air fry your leftovers for 5 minutes at 390° to reconstitute some of the crispness.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
Vegetable oil is ideal because of its neutral flavor and high smoke point. Peanut oil is another excellent choice that many Southern cooks swear by for its slightly nutty flavor and excellent heat tolerance. Canola oil works well too. Avoid olive oil, which has too low a smoke point for deep frying.
Temperature control is everything! Use a cooking thermometer for both the oil and the chicken. Maintain your oil between 325-350°F throughout cooking—if it gets too hot, your coating will burn before the chicken cooks through; too cool and you’ll end up with greasy chicken. Remember that adding chicken to the pot will temporarily lower the oil temperature, so adjust your heat as needed. Check the temperature of the chicken with the instant-read thermometer after removing it from the oil.
Sure! While dark meat like drumsticks and thighs tends to stay juicier, you can use any chicken pieces you prefer. If using breasts, consider slicing them into strips or cutlets for more even cooking and a better meat-to-coating ratio. You’ll also need to adjust cooking times—breast meat will cook faster than bone-in pieces.
More Chicken Recipes To Consider
Pasta Dishes
Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Baked Pasta
Soups, Stews & Chowders
White Chicken Chili
Chicken Recipes
Kung Pow Chicken
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