Chef David's Crispy Chicken Fries

Author:
Marlene Bertrand
Updated:
Oct 21, 2022 10:19 PM EDT

These chicken strips are extra crispy and crunchy!
Author

Chicken Fries Recipe

My husband, David, is the one who is in charge of the meals in my home. He does all of the shopping for ingredients for each meal and prepares each dish to perfection. I call him Chef David because his food is always perfectly seasoned and delicious.

These extra-crispy fried chicken strips are extraordinarily crunchy and tasty, just like the kind you might find at a fancy restaurant. They are perfectly seasoned. They have a flavor profile that I know you're going to love.

They are also very easy to make—and once you make them, you will make them again and again.

Dip them in your favorite sauce for an extra tasty treat.

Cook Time


Prep time	Cook time	Ready in	Yields
35 min	20 min	55 min	4 servings

Ingredients

1 chicken breast
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup oil (or enough for 1/4 inch in the frying pan)
1/8 teaspoon cayennne pepper (optional)

Instructions

Cut chicken breasts into ½-inch strips.
In a small bowl, beat the egg.
Add sour cream to the beaten egg and whisk together.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, thyme, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. If you opted to use cayenne pepper, you may include it here.
Dip the chicken into the sour cream and egg mixture.
Roll the chicken into the seasoned flour mixture.
Place the seasoned chicken on a rack to dry for 15 minutes.
Place the oil in a skillet and heat to 375°F.
When the oil is hot, place a few chicken pieces at a time into the hot oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Transfer the cooked pieces onto a tray lined with a paper towel.
Serve with your favorite dip(s) and enjoy!

Tips

David’s secret to making sure the chicken skin cooks up nice and crispy is to make sure the chicken is dry. He places the seasoned and floured chicken on a wire rack to be sure all sides of the chicken are evenly dried.
While the oil is heating, line a tray with paper towels so you can drain the fried chicken after frying it.
Only use vegetable oil when frying chicken. Vegetable oil can withstand the high temperature required for frying chicken.
Make sure the oil is hot before you begin frying the chicken, otherwise, if the oil is not hot enough, the fat from the chicken skin will begin to render out instead of crisping up and you will then end up with soggy chicken.
Make sure the chicken is not too cold before frying. Another benefit of placing the chicken on the wire rack is so that the chicken is not too cold when placing it into the oil. If the chicken is too cold, it will lower the temperature of the oil, and then instead of crispy fried chicken, the chicken becomes soggy and oil-laden.
To take the guesswork out of gauging the temperature of the oil, use an electric skillet. An electric skillet allows you to set the temperature of the oil and know for sure that the temperature is just right before placing the chicken into the oil.

Substitution Option for Sour Cream

If you'd prefer not to use sour cream or you don't have any on hand, you can substitute 1/2 cup of buttermilk or 1/2 cup of yogurt. In fact, most people use buttermilk when frying chicken because the lactic acid in the buttermilk breaks down the cartilage in the chicken which causes the chicken to become tender. Because it is also a lactic acid product, yogurt is a good substitute for buttermilk. We generally do not have buttermilk or yogurt at our house, so it is a good thing David discovered sour cream serves the same purpose as buttermilk and yogurt. Some people like to soak the chicken in buttermilk for up to 8 hours before frying, but David fries tender, juicy chicken without the additional time soaking.

Sauce options from the top, clockwise: mustard, horseradish, ketchup, and ranch dressing.
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Dipping Sauces

These chicken fries are delicious straight from the fryer, but they can also be dipped in any sauce of your choice. We like to dip our chicken strips in pre-made sauces such as: