Best Country Fried Chicken

It isn't as hard as you might think to prepare a delicious homemade fried chicken dinner. With this easy recipe for the Best Country Fried Chicken, all you need are a few simple ingredients and soon you'll have a perfectly crispy meal on the table for your family. Make this fried chicken recipe in a skillet on your stove top in under an hour; it really is that easy to whip up a good old-fashioned country chicken dinner!

Cooking MethodSkillet

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
butter, as needed
shortening, as needed

Instructions

In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper.
In a large heavy skillet, combine equal portions of butter and shortening. When butter and shortening are melted, fat should be 1/4-inch deep. Heat until a drop of water sizzles when it is flipped into the hot fat.
Dredge chicken pieces with seasoned flour and place in skillet; take care not to crowd the pieces. Brown until chicken is the color of honey oak on one side; then turn and brown the other side. Brown meaty pieces first. Allow 20 to 30 minutes to brown chicken on both sides.
Cover. Cook on low 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. For crispy chicken, remove cover and increase heat for last 10 minutes of cooking time; turn chicken as necessary to prevent over-browning.

Note: Chicken may be held an additional 15-20 minutes on a rack in a 200 degrees F oven before serving.