Image By: Stephanie Manley Via YouTube
Oh, I do so love my Cracker Barrel, from the Mac n Cheese to the rolls to the Apple Dumplin. Anyone who knows me is well aware there is no hour of the day I will not agree to make a pit stop to eat at my favorite restaurant. However, lately, I’ve decided to try my hand at a few Cracker Barrel copycat recipes my friends have passed along via Facebook, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the results. My family is pretty thrilled about this new deal, too. Now, we get to eat the taste of Cracker Barrel more often. Here’s a recipe for fried chicken we just tried last weekend, super easy and not one bite left on the plates when it came time to do the dishes. Personally, I have not been a big fan of making fried chicken at home because it never turned out quite right. After watching this video which made this recipe look super straightforward and easy, I decided to brave the chicken frying experience one more time.
Lo and behold, the chicken actually turned out a lot like my favorite served up at the restaurant. Buttermilk appears to be the key, at least not what I had been using when I made homemade fried chicken before. See what you think for yourself.
Here is what you need to make this copycat recipe
Pour a few inches of oil into the fryer or pot you are going to use to cook the chicken.
Mix flour, salt and pepper in one bowl for your seasoned flour dry mix. Combine water and buttermilk in another bowl for the wet mix.
Flatten the chicken breasts using a meat mallet. It works best if you put the chicken breasts between waxed paper while you do this. I have found that chicken tenders also work well when you don’t have time to do this step and they also allow each bite to have more fried chicken crust!
Dip the chicken in the seasoned flour dry mix, then the wet buttermilk mix, then the dry mix again. Repeat with all of the chicken pieces.
Once the oil is hot, add the chicken to the pan. Don’t overcrowd them, cook in two batches or more. Fry each side until golden brown. This should take about 8 minutes for chicken breasts, about 4 minutes for chicken tenders.
Image credit and video via Stephanie Manley at Copykat.com
Be sure to check out her site and Youtube channel for lots of other yummy dishes.