This Is What Sets Traditional Southern Fried Chicken Apart From The Rest

Fried chicken is a staple in many cuisines across the globe, but crispy, golden southern fried chicken in particular is an iconic dish that offers next-level flavor partnered with simplicity perfected over centuries. A staple in southern cuisine, fried chicken is older than the South itself. We wanted to dig into the reason why southern fried chicken stands out from the rest of the flock, so we asked Chef Art Smith, a southern cuisine expert and owner of Reunion in Chicago, Illinois.

According to chef Smith, "Traditional southern fried chicken is pan-fried, not deep-fried. You don't need gallons of oil — just a good old Lodge skillet and enough fat to shallow fry the chicken." Chef Smith even revealed the secret tip to making your fried chicken taste like it's coming straight from a kitchen in the South, "For that extra authentic flavor, fry up some bacon first and use that bacon grease in your oil mix. If you really want to go old-school, use lard."

Frying chicken can be intimidating for many home cooks, it's a messy, delicate process that can yield results that aren't always worth the effort. But get it right, and the flaky chicken skin paired with that juicy interior will make you forget about every greasy, countertop splatter. We have a few secrets to making the best fried chicken ever that will take a little bit of the fear out of frying.

First off, to make sure chef Smith's pointers don't go to waste, check to see if your iron skillet is well-seasoned and ready for frying. If not, don't worry, cast iron maintenance is not as hard as the cookware industry makes you think. Before frying, make sure that your chicken is at room temperature. This will ensure that the outside and the inside cook at an optimal, complementary pace. Finally, consider poaching your chicken in buttermilk after brining — this gives you a fully cooked chicken and takes out the guesswork of figuring out if the interior is the proper temperature while frying up the exterior.