Southern fried chicken is one of the great additions to the culinary canon that America has come up with. Hot, juicy chicken makes a fantastic meal worthy of any celebration—but only if it's good!

Perfectly fried chicken should be light and crisp on the outside with meat that's tender and juicy all the way through, and never greasy. There are some very common errors that can occur when deep-frying your own chicken at home, and luckily they have simple thermal solutions. We have tips and an expert recipe for foolproof fried chicken that turns out perfectly every time!

Fried Chicken Troubleshooting

Some of the most common problems that can befall a would-be perfect batch of fried chicken are:

1. Greasy Exterior

Fried foods easily become greasy when the cooking oil is too cool in the beginning. The breading absorbs the oil rather than immediately beginning to cook.

2. Undercooked Meat

This occurs when the cooking oil is too hot and the exterior of the fried chicken is done before the meat has a chance to cook all the way through.

3. Uneven, Patchy Breading

Evenly-breaded fried chicken is best coated with a buttermilk mixture, then coated in a dry breading before frying. Now, that's no mystery, but what you might not know is that it's important to allow the chicken to rest before frying so the coating has a chance to hydrate and get a little sticky. Otherwise, it can slide right off of the chicken when it's placed in the hot oil.

Letting the breading rest before frying the chicken is the key to getting that craggy, crispy crust we all love so much with fried chicken.

Choose Oil Based on Thermal Properties: The Smoke Point

The smoke point of any cooking fat is the temperature at which it begins to scorch and emit smoke. Your oil choice should be based on the cooking temperature you will be using for the deep-frying project. Peanut or corn oil are usually the go-to oils for deep frying because their smoke point is 450°F (232°C), and they have a neutral flavor.

Carefully track the temperature of the frying oil. Once the chicken is placed in the oil, the temperature will drop dramatically and you'll need to adjust the heat to get it quickly back up to the proper temperature range.

Don't "Eyeball" the Oil Temperature

The most common mistake when deep-frying at home is failing to keep track of the temperature of the oil. Contrary to folk wisdom, you can't know if the oil temperature is "just right" by dropping a few crumbs in the oil to see if they sizzle! Whether you're frying chicken, doughnuts, or french fries, actually monitoring the oil temperature is critical to cooking food at the proper rate. Some foods need to fry quickly at a high cooking temperature, other foods like fried chicken need a more moderate cooking temperature to be sure the meat is cooked all the way through without scorching the exterior.

And since the oil temperature can drop dramatically after placing the food items in the oil, if you're eyeballing it, you may not be adjusting the heat appropriately to maintain the proper temperature. Track your temps!

Use Two Thermometers

One of the most important ways to achieve perfectly fried chicken is to use two thermometers. There are two categories of thermometers that you need for this cook:

• Alarm thermometer: for tracking temperature in one location over time. As we said above, monitoring the oil temperature is a critical step that cannot be ignored. If your oil temp is too high, your fried chicken will be scorched on the outside with meat that is undercooked. If the oil is too cool, your chicken will be greasy and will lack the golden-brown crispy exterior you want.

ChefAlarm^® is a leave-in probe alarm thermometer with both high and low alarms to keep your oil in the right range, and it also records the max/min readings.

• Instant-read thermometer: for spot-checking temperatures in multiple areas quickly. (For more on this, see our post What Kind of Thermometer Do I Need?) Spot-checking the internal temperature of the chicken to verify its doneness will ensure that your chicken is not only done and safe to eat, but still juicy and tender rather than dry and overcooked.

Thermapen^® ONE is the best digital instant-read thermometer you can buy and is perfect for verifying the internal pull temperature of the chicken to be sure you know when it's ready to come out of the oil.

Fried chicken doneness temperatures

For maximum juiciness, always fry dark meat. Legs and thighs are the best for frying because they are less likely to dry out. Breast meat dries out if the internal temperature is off by only a few degrees, but because of dark meat's higher connective-tissue content, it can withstand a wider range of temperatures. In fact, it's best when cooked to a minimum temp of 175°F (79°C), but it's good all the way up to 200°F (93°C). We can take our chicken out of the oil a few degrees cooler than that doneness temp and it will continue to cook. When you spot-check your chicken temps with your Thermapen, look for a temp no lower than 168°F (76°C). It's guaranteed safe already at that temp, but it will become more tender as it rests and carryover cooks. But don't worry if leave it in a little longer! Anywhere between 168°F and 200°F (76°C and 93°C) is great for dark meat.

When it comes to fried chicken, temperature control is everything! Accurately tracking the oil's temperature is the only way to ensure your chicken will be cooked properly with a light, crisp exterior, and a juicy interior.

Resources:
EveryDayCook, by Alton Brown

Fried Chicken 101, Cook's Country

The Food Lab: The Best Southern Fried Chicken, by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of SeriousEats.com