Southern Vs Italian Fried Chicken: What's The Difference?

For those of us who grew up in the U.S. regularly seeing restaurants like KFC, Popeyes, and Roy Rogers slinging Southern-style fried chicken, we probably assumed that we were the only culture lucky enough to have this kind of chicken dish. Not so, fried chicken is a pretty universal dish. The (American) cheese doesn't stand alone here — global cultures with cuisines that could not be more different from each other have their own versions of fried chicken. Our Southern fried chicken is defined by being brined in buttermilk to tenderize the meat, then dipped in flour that has been seasoned with spices like paprika, cayenne, and pepper. Finally, it's deep fried until golden brown and shatteringly crisp with a crunch so loud you can hear it three seats over. Now that is a good Southern style fried chicken.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian chefs cook up their version of fried chicken known as pollo fritto (which simply translates to fried chicken). In her book "The Tuscan Cookbook", Wilma Pezzini shares her recipe for traditional pollo fritto, which hails from the beautiful region of Tuscany. Instead of being marinated in buttermilk, the chicken takes an extended bath in olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. It's then dipped in flour and eggs, and rather than being deep fried, it's usually pan fried in olive oil in a cast iron pan. The final result is moist and packed with rich flavor, with an outer crust that is crisp rather than oily.

Southern-style fried chicken and Italian pollo fritto are different from beginning to end, but they are both going for the same result: A moist piece of chicken with a crisp outer crust. In the American version, the acid in the buttermilk is what breaks down the proteins in the meat, ensuring a tender piece of chicken. Plus, the thick texture of the buttermilk helps the flour dredge adhere to the chicken, ultimately achieving the goal of a thick, craggly, crunchy crust.

Olive oil doesn't have the same acidic quality as buttermilk but the added lemon juice does, which works to tenderize in a similar way to buttermilk. The olive oil also locks in the moisture and juices in the meat as it marinates, ensuring the chicken is tender after frying. Additionally, because olive oil can hold onto fat soluble flavors like herbs and spices, it helps the seasoning penetrate deeper into the meat. A twist on this is to use olive brine instead of (or as well as) olive oil, which helps to infuse rich flavor into the meat while also retaining moisture, ensuring each piece of chicken is juicy and deeply savory throughout.