Southern Fried Chicken Biscuits (Printable)
Crispy fried chicken and fluffy buttermilk biscuits make a comforting Southern meal.
# What You'll Need:
→ For the Fried Chicken
01 - 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (thighs, drumsticks, or breasts)
02 - 2 cups buttermilk
03 - 2 teaspoons hot sauce (optional)
04 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
05 - 1 tablespoon paprika
06 - 2 teaspoons garlic powder
07 - 2 teaspoons onion powder
08 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
09 - 2 teaspoons salt
10 - 1 teaspoon black pepper
11 - Vegetable oil, for frying
→ For the Buttermilk Biscuits
12 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
13 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
14 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
15 - 1 teaspoon salt
16 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced
17 - 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
18 - 1 tablespoon honey (optional, for brushing)
# How to Make It:
01 - In a large bowl, combine buttermilk and hot sauce. Add chicken pieces, turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
02 - Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk and stir just until combined. Turn dough onto a floured surface, gently pat to 3/4-inch thickness. Fold dough over itself 2-3 times for flakiness, then pat out again. Cut biscuits using a 2.5-inch round cutter. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
03 - Bake 12–15 minutes until golden. Brush tops with honey or melted butter if desired.
04 - In a large bowl, combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off. Dredge each piece well in seasoned flour.
05 - In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat 1.5 inches of oil to 350°F. Fry chicken in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through (internal temp 165°F), about 12–15 minutes per batch. Drain on a rack or paper towels.
06 - Serve warm fried chicken alongside hot buttermilk biscuits.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The buttermilk marinade makes the chicken impossibly tender while creating that shatteringly crisp crust everyone fights over
- These biscuits are so good they might steal the show, and the honey brushed on top creates this irresistible sweet-savory contrast
02 -
- Letting the dredged chicken sit for 5 minutes before frying creates that extra crunchy crust that really sticks
- Oil temperature matters more than anything, too hot and outside burns before inside cooks, too cool and you get greasy chicken
03 -
- Let your fried chicken rest on a wire rack over a baking sheet to maintain maximum crispiness
- Grate a little frozen butter into your biscuit flour instead of cutting it in for the most tender result