My Fried Chicken Is Not Crispy? [Avoid Making These Common Mistakes]

You have got the perfect recipe for amazing fried chicken, however, it’s not turned out as expected. Most of all, it does not have the crunch that you were expecting.

Well, it only leads you to wonder what could have gone wrong.

Fried chicken doesn’t turn crispy mainly because the temperature of the oil isn’t high (350-400F). Other reasons include a thin layer of coating, crowding the pieces in the pan, or not allowing the residual heat in the chicken pieces to escape by laying them on top of each other or on paper towels.

In this article, we shall look into some of the reasons that could have gone wrong and the fried chicken has turned out to be soggy. Also, we shall look into some tips to quickly fix your fried chicken.

Why is my fried chicken, not crispy?

Here is a list of a few things that could have gone wrong.

1. Oil is not at the right temperature

The most common mistake that people make is that they are too eager to drop the chicken in oil and start frying. Well, if the oil is not hot enough you will get fried chicken that not only drops the temperature of oil even further but also starts absorbing the oil.

This leads to an oily, greasy chicken that feels heavy on eating, is not enjoyable also does not have the light fluffy crisp coating that makes the fried chicken so delectable.

For perfectly deep-frying chicken the oil has to be between 350 – 400 degrees. If you are not sure if you have achieved these temperatures then use a candy or oil thermometer. Ora simple test of putting a few breadcrumbs in the oil and checking if they immediately bounce back to the surface. If they do then the oil is ready for frying.

HOT TIP: It generally takes about 10 – 13 minutes for the chicken pieces to cook. Smaller pieces cook in about 10 minutes and aim for 13 minutes for the larger ones. Chicken wings typically take 18 – 20 minutes.

2. Have not soaked the chicken properly in the buttermilk brine mixture

Not Soaking the chicken well in a buttermilk-brine mix and dredging will result in a chicken that lacks flavor, and also does not have a coating that sticks to the skin. Soaking overnight is ideal. However, if that is not possible then soaking for 3 -4 hours is a good option. At a minimum, the chicken has to soak for an hour if you want good results.

3. Have not Air dried the chicken

After you have dredged the chicken do not be in a hurry to pop it into the oil and start the frying process. The chicken ideally needs to be air dried, so that the coating sticks well and the excess coating falls off. Air drying overnight is recommended for best results. however, anything more than an hour will also do if you are in a hurry.

4. Breading is too much or too little

If you think that you need not bread fried chicken at all, then it’s the most obvious that you do not get a crispy exterior. Too much breading will also end up ruining the chicken as it will simply absorb the oil. Just enough breading that coats all the sides of the chicken is the key to a crisp-coated crumb.

5. Chicken is too cold to accept the coating

Chicken needs a minimum of 30 minutes to come to room temperature or near room temperature. Coating a cold chicken will release the moisture present and will not allow the coating to stick to the chicken well.

6. Cold chicken in the fryer

Putting too cold chicken in the fryer will lower the oil temperatures as well as release the moisture abruptly as it is going from too cold to too hot. Thus, it will make the chicken that will lose the coating. Also, it may happen that the chicken is unevenly cooked.

7. Too many pieces at once

Adding too many pieces at once also brings down the temperature of the oil and also does not give enough room for the chicken to develop a crisp exterior as some of the parts are not adequately exposed to oil and are stuck to each other.

Thus space out the chicken pieces keeping at least a 2 – 3 cm gap between them on all sides.

HOT TIP: If you have an internal thermometer then test the pieces and bring them out when they reach between 160 – 165 degrees.

8. The vessel for frying is too small

Frying can be done in most vessels and does not require specialized equipment. However, ensure that the vessel that you are frying in is big enough to hold a good quantity of oil as well as will allow you enough space between the chicken pieces for them to fry well.

9. The oil used for frying cannot take higher temperatures

Use oils that have higher smoke points such that they are able to withstand temperatures as well as do not cool rapidly when the chicken pieces are introduced into the oil for frying.

Most refined oils, clarified butter, duck fat, chicken fat, and lard will be able to get smoke points higher than 350F. However, unrefined oils, walnut oil, butter, and a few other oils have lower smoke points. Thus, check the smoking point of your oils if you’re not completely sure.

10. Using an old batch of oil

Using a previously used batch of oil for deep frying is another culprit for not getting that crisp exterior. Or mixing an old and new bac=tch together. The oil is not able to reach higher smoke points and thus becomes incapable of frying well.

11. Cooling on paper towels!

After ensuring all the steps that you need to get a crispy chicken, putting the beautiful crisp pieces on a paper towel to dry will only make them release the heat, form steam, and make them soggy! Surprising, but it’s true. Not just for chicken but for all fried stuff.

The perfect way to drain out excess oil as well as bring them out of the fryer is to put them out on a wire rack or a vessel that has enough holes. The basic idea is not to overlap the chicken pieces in a way that are completely stuck together but are spaced out and release the residual heat by air drying.

Otherwise, if they are kept on paper towels or on top of each other they release steam, making the coating soggy and at times the coating can also come off.

Tips to fix greasy and soggy fried chicken

Refry the chicken again at proper temperatures.
Add a 1/2 tsp baking soda to the left batter and fry again at proper temperatures until crispy.

My Fried Chicken Is Not Crispy? [Avoid Making These Common Mistakes]