Skillet-fried chicken
Photo: T.Tseng · CC BY 2.0

History

Kentucky's fried chicken tradition predates the franchise era by a century, built on Sunday-dinner skillets, buttermilk brines and lard. The state's most famous son industrialised it from a Corbin service station in the 1930s, but the dish never left home kitchens. Lexington's current wave runs from Azur's bourbon fried chicken with cream gravy to Distilled on Jefferson's house-brined bird with chow chow and rosemary jus.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 5 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
  • 500ml buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce
  • 250g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • Neutral oil or lard for shallow frying

Method

  1. Brine the chicken in the buttermilk, salt and hot sauce for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
  2. Whisk the flour, cornflour, paprika, garlic powder and pepper; dredge each piece straight from the brine, pressing the coating on.
  3. Heat 2cm of oil to 170C in a deep cast-iron skillet and lay in the dark meat first, skin side down.
  4. Fry 12 to 14 minutes per side, adjusting the heat so it sizzles steadily without smoking, until deep gold and 74C at the bone.
  5. Rest on a rack, never paper, for 10 minutes so the crust stays shattering-crisp.

Tip from the editors. A thermometer beats intuition twice here: 170C oil and 74C at the bone are the whole game in a skillet.

Where to eat skillet-fried chicken

Skillet-fried chicken in Lexington

Azur Restaurant & Patio ★ 4.3

$$$ AmericanBeaumont

Azur Restaurant & Patio reworks American classics near Keeneland in Beaumont, a Lexington fixture since 2005 known for Tim Perkins' bourbon fried chicken.

SignatureBourbon fried chicken, Woven shrimp

TipSunday brunch runs 10:30-14:00. Ask for the patio in racing season; it books out on Keeneland weekends.

Directions Book

Distilled on Jefferson ★ 4.4

$$$ SouthernJefferson Street

Distilled on Jefferson pairs farm-to-table Southern cooking with a deep bourbon bar on Lexington's Jefferson Street restaurant row, in business since 2014.

TipDinner only. The bourbon list rewards asking the bar for a Kentucky-only pour before you order food.

Directions Book

The Blue Heron Steakhouse ★ 4.1

$$$ SteakhouseJefferson Street

The Blue Heron Steakhouse grills premium beef, oysters and fried chicken on Jefferson Street, Keith Clark's clubby corner of Lexington's restaurant row.

TipDinner only, from 17:00. Jefferson Street parking tightens after 19:00 on weekends, so arrive early.

Directions

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