These crispy Fried Chicken Drumsticks are juicy and perfectly seasoned with a crunchy crust. It all starts with soaking the drumsticks in seasoned buttermilk and then coating it in a highly seasoned flour mixture. Everyone’s going to love this fried chicken recipe when you cook it up!
I am no stranger to frying up crispy golden brown delicacies, and deep fried chicken is just one of those things I know very well. I’ve taken my years of experience and my tried and true recipe, to show you how to make your fried chicken taste better.
This recipe and all my tips are here to help make frying chicken easier for you, the cook.
If you love all things fried, try these fried steak fingers and coconut fried shrimp next!
Why You Will Love This Fried Chicken Recipe
- The Right Seasonings. This will make or break your pan fried chicken drumsticks and in my recipe, the seasoning is on point! From the properly seasoned breading mixture with a bit of heat, and hot sauce that makes an appearance twice in the recipe, you will end up flavorful chicken.
- Buttermilk Bath. While this takes a bit of planning ahead so you can soak the chicken, it tenderizes the chicken infuses it with more flavor. There’s no need to soak overnight though — just a couple hours will do.
Ingredients
- Chicken drumsticks: These are an affordable cut of bone-in chicken that’s perfect for frying. Of course you can use other types of chicken but they may require a longer cooking time.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a type of cultured milk that’s fermented creating acid in the milk and thickens it. The acid works to tenderize the chicken as it soaks.
- Hot sauce: For subtle heat, we add a bit of hot sauce to the soaking liquid and then again to the egg mixture for dipping the chicken.
- All purpose flour: The main ingredient for creating a crispy crust on your chicken.
- Slap Ya Mama: I love this Cajun seasoning blend and use it all the time. It’s great for adding a bit of spice and savory flavors.
- Other seasonings: We will also be using paprika, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper to season the breading for the chicken.
- Vegetable oil, olive oil, peanut oil or canola oil: These work great for frying as they are refined oils with a high smoke point, the temperature at which an oil will begin to smoke. Since you’re frying at a higher temperature you want one that won’t smoke too much.
Be sure to check the recipe card for the entire list of ingredients plus the quantities you need of each one.
Variations
- Extra Crispy Chicken: Corn starch is the secret ingredient in any extra crispy fried chicken recipe. Replace up to half of the flour with an equal amount of cornstarch for a crispier crust.
- Less Spice: If you’re super sensitive to spice you can leave out the cayenne pepper.
How To Make Fried Chicken Drumsticks
- Step 1: Soak the Chicken. Place the drumsticks in a large bowl. Mix the buttermilk and hot sauce together and pour over the chicken legs. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Step 2: Set up the Dredging Station. Set up three shallow containers. Fill the first with 1 ½ cups of flour. Whisk the eggs, water and hot sauce together and add to the second container. Last, whisk together the flour and seasonings and add to the third container.
- Step 3: Heat the oil. Add the oil to a skillet and heat over high heat.
- Step 4: Bread the Chicken. Add the drumsticks, a small batch at a time, into the flour, then into the egg mixture, and last into the seasoned flour mixture.
- Step 5: Cook the Chicken. Place the coated chicken into the hot oil and cook until golden brown on all sides. Use a thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken. You want the internal temperature to reach 165° F.
- Step 6: Drain and Repeat. Remove the chicken drumsticks from pan and place them on a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Expert Tips
- Don’t Soak the Chicken Too Long. I recommend overnight or up to 8 hours max as ideal. More than 24 hours may cause the texture of the chicken to change.
- Don’t Overcrowd. The key to crispy chicken is cooking in hot oil. Adding too many pieces of chicken to the oil at one time may drop the temperature of the oil and affect how it cooks. It’s also easier to move and turn the chicken when there is some space between them.
- Keep Warm in the Oven. If you’re frying lots of chicken you can place the pan lined with paper towels to drain the chicken in a 200° F oven to keep warm while the rest cooks.
- Store. Place leftover chicken in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to four days or the freezer for up to three months. Thaw it out in the fridge overnight before reheating.
What to Serve with Fried Chicken
Enjoy these fried chicken drumsticks for a backyard picnic or potluck along with easy side dishes like red skinned potato salad, cole slaw, and macaroni salad.
For a southern dinner, serve up a pile of fluffy Instant Pot mashed potatoes, Cajun corn on the cob, and homemade buttermilk biscuits.
Recipe FAQs
Setup your dredging station in the correct order to keep it simple. Always keep one dry hand and one wet hand. Never use a dry hand with the wet ingredients or a wet hand with the dry ingredients. The breading process is naturally messy, but it can get out of hand really quickly if you aren’t deliberately trying to keep these things apart from one another.
Fried chicken is always best enjoyed freshly cooked. However, I don’t like to waste so I find reheating it in the oven is the best way to reheat the chicken. The dry heat helps restore some of the crispiness while heating the meat.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes
And here’s a scrumptious and popular Malibu Chicken from Great Grub, Delicious Treats you might love too!
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Fried Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 12 chicken drumsticks
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup hot sauce
For the Dredging Stations
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup hot sauce
- 3 cups flour divided
- 1 tablespoon slap
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 + cups canola oil, peanut oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place chicken in a large bowl.
- Mix buttermilk and hot sauce together and pour over drumsticks.
- Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
For The Dredging Stations
- Set up dredging station with 3 containers.
- Add 1 ½ cups of flour to the first container.
- Whisk eggs, water and hot sauce to the second container.
- And whisk remaining flour, seasonings and pepper to the third container.
- Add drumsticks, a few at a time, into the flour, then into the egg mixture and then into the seasoned flour mixture.
- Heat oil over medium high heat.
- Place coated chicken into hot oil and cook until golden brown on all sides and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove from pan and place chicken on a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels while frying the remaining chicken.
- Enjoy with a side salad, potato salad, macaroni salad or your favorite side dishes.
Notes
Nutrition
