If you try to cook too many pieces of chicken at once, you’ll end up dropping the temperature of the oil too fast and the chicken will come out greasy and heavy. Fry the chicken in batches, making sure there is room for the chicken to float around. If it browns in about 45 seconds, it’s at the right temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a 1-inch cube of bread in the oil. Any lower and the chicken will absorb oil and taste greasy and heavy. Any hotter and the chicken will burn on the outside before it cooks all the way to the inside. You want your oil to be at a steady 350☏.

Use an instant read thermometer or deep frying/candy thermometer.

If you drop the chicken from a distance, the oil will splatter up and potentially hit and burn you! This way the chicken will slide into the oil effortlessly. Use tongs and hold onto the chicken until half of it is immersed in the hot oil, then let go. Never drop the chicken into the hot oil from a distance.

When deep frying, slide the chicken into the hot oil.

The rest time for the coating also helps the crust adhere to the chicken.

Let the chicken sit for a little bit after you coat it.Just make sure to use a pan that is at least 3 inches tall because hot oil might slosh or bubble over lower sided pans. You can use any large heavy skillet or Dutch oven you have on hand.

The cast iron will retain heat as you fry multiple batches of chicken. I prefer to use a heavy cast iron skillet.

Dredge chicken cast iron pan