How to Fry Chicken Thighs & Drum Sticks

You can make crispy, golden brown fried chicken at home.

Frying chicken at home is not as easy as hitting the drive-through for a bucket of a fast food version, but it has a fresher and more easily customized flavor. The dark meat of chicken, thighs and drumsticks, has more flavor than chicken breasts, but these dark meat pieces require more time to cook through because they must reach a higher internal temperature to be done. Keeping this in mind will ensure you have frying success.

Things You'll Need

• 2 shallow bowls
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper, freshly ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground paprika
• 2 cups buttermilk
• Paper towels
• Tongs
• Drainage rack or baker's cooling rack
• Deep cast-iron skillet or pot
• 3 cups vegetable or peanut oil
• Frying thermometer
• Meat thermometer

Instructions

1. Combine 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. freshly ground pepper and 1/2 tsp. ground paprika in one of the bowls. Pour 2 cups buttermilk into the second bowl.
   Pat the chicken thighs and drumsticks dry with paper towels.

2. Lift each piece of chicken with tongs and dip it into the buttermilk to coat it, then roll it into the flour. Set the coated chicken piece onto a drainage rack. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces until all have been coated.

3. Rest the chicken for at least 30 minutes to help the coating adhere to the meat before frying.

4. Heat the vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There should be 2 inches of oil in the bottom of the skillet. Add or remove oil to reach this level. Insert a frying thermometer into the oil without touching the pan to test the temperature of the oil.

5. Lower the chicken thighs and drumsticks into the hot oil. Turn the chicken over with tongs after seven minutes to ensure all sides are cooked through. Fry the chicken for a total of 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 170 degrees when inserted into the thickest portion of the meat away from the bone.

6. Remove the fried drumsticks and thighs to a drainage rack to drain and cool for 15 minutes before eating.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute 3 lbs. solid vegetable shortening for the vegetable oil. It will melt into the frying medium as it cooks. Though higher in saturated fats than vegetable oil, shortening produces a more flavorful, authentically Southern fried chicken.

References

• "Kitchen Simple: Essential Recipes for Everyday Cooking"; James Peterson; 2011
• "Joy of Cooking"; Irma von Starkloff Rombauer, et al.l 1997