Who doesn’t like fried chicken? And especially fried chicken drumstick? It’s quite impossible to find a meat lover who hates eating fried chicken. This mouthwatering food is easy to cook and the prep process is less time-consuming. The real challenge comes during frying the chicken to its perfection. How long to deep fry chicken legs? It’s quite common to under-fry or over-fry chicken. Frying the legs is crucial since it’s the tenderest part. How long to fry chicken in deep fryer depends on a lot of factors and in this article, we’ll discuss a fried chicken recipe that shows how to properly fry chicken drumsticks. You’ll get to enjoy the most delicious tasting and most succulent fried chicken with our recipe. You can separate the other parts from the drumsticks and use them for making sandwiches, casseroles, salads, and pies.
Deep Frying the Chicken Properly
You’re probably here to know how long to fry chicken legs in deep fryer. You’ll come across many recipes that deep fry whole chicken and then separate the drumsticks. But we’ve made a recipe exclusively separating the drumsticks, so you can get the best out of this juicy part of the chicken.
What You’ll Need
- 5 pieces of chicken legs
- Buttermilk (2 cups)
- Flour (1.5 cups)
- Black Pepper (0.5 tbsp)
- Seasoning Salt (1 tbsp)
- Peanut/Sunflower Oil
How Long to Deep Fry Chicken Legs
You may wonder “how long does it take to deep fry a chicken?”. Here’s the total estimated time for deep frying chicken legs:
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes
Tools for Deep Frying
The invention of deep fryer has really eased our cooking. You don’t require a lot of tools for frying in a deep fryer. But before you know how to fry chicken in a deep fryer, you’ll need these tools:
- Deep Fryer
- Cutting Board
- Measuring Cups
- Spoons (tea & table)
- Tongs
- Mixing Bowl
- Deep Fry Thermometer
Time to Deep Fry the Chicken Legs
If you’re still bugging about how long do I deep fry chicken legs, you can follow this simple fried chicken recipe deep fryer for properly deep frying the chicken legs.
1. Pick up the Pieces
Most of the people who love fried chicken love the drumsticks more than the other pieces. So, we’ve chosen to make a recipe of frying the chicken legs specifically. But you can make any pieces of chicken using this recipe. Just make sure the ingredients are proportionate to the chicken pieces.
However, to fry chicken pieces, you have to get the chicken first. So, get yourself the chicken pieces (in our recipe, it’s the legs) that are fresh and that smell good. After you’ve bought them from the market, take them home and rinse them well. Then, pat them dry using a paper towel.
2. Filling the Oil
The taste and the time required for frying depends on a couple of things and the oil used for frying is one of them. Before pouring the oil make sure the deep fryer is clean to get the perfect flavor. You can either use peanut or sunflower oil for frying in a deep fryer. If you want to use any other oil, make sure that its smoke point is greater than 400℉. While pouring the oil on the fryer, only use the amount you deem necessary for frying your chicken legs. Don’t over or under do on the oil. Modern deep fryers come with lines for a minimum and a maximum oil level, so you don’t have to measure the oil for yourself.
3. Heating the Fryer
Different deep fryer models come with different mechanisms for turning them on. Turn on the deep fryer and maintain the temperature required for the oil to get hot. It has to be 350-375℉ for the chicken to fry properly. Some models have thermostats installed in them. If you’re using one of these models, you don’t have to worry about over or under-heating the oil. But keeping a thermometer for your deep fryer is always a good idea.
4. Make the Breading
Make a breading using these items:
- All-purpose flour
- Seasoning salt
- Black pepper
Mix the black pepper and the seasoning salt in an equal amount. Add 2 cups of flour into it. You can use your desired seasoning or create one for yourself.
5. Use the Breading on the Chicken
Breading chicken is not that hard. You can even do it without any liquid dipping beforehand if your chicken’s exterior is wet. For our recipe, we’ll use buttermilk for dipping. Using a thick dip gives the chicken a soft texture and it retains the tenderness of the legs. Bread the legs just before you put it in the oil. If you let the breading sit for too long, the chicken will become too moist.
6. Fry the Legs
A deep fryer chicken is different than chicken fried in a frying pan. Make sure no one is allergic to the oil you’re using. You can use canola oil in that case. When the oil is hot enough, put the chicken legs in it. You can set a timer for 15 minutes on the fryer, so your chicken accidentally doesn’t get over fried.
7. Check for the Internal Temperature (Optional)
But how long to deep fry chicken legs? It takes around 15 minutes to deep fry the legs. But they’ll appear to be ready within 5 minutes of frying. To make perfectly deep fried chicken drumsticks, you can take a thermometer to check the chicken’s internal temperature. Put the thermometer’s probe into the chicken’s thickest part and measure the core temperature. Choose a spot that’s near the bone. If the temperature shows 165℉, you can be assured that it’s safe to eat. Now you know how long does it take to fry chicken legs.
Recipe for Making the Seasoning Salt at Home
Add all these ingredients together to make your own deep fry batter or seasoning salt:
- Garlic Powder (¼ tsp)
- Paprika (½ tsp)
- Celery Salt (¼ tsp)
- Onion Powder (¼ tsp)
- Turmeric (¼ tsp)
- Marjoram (¼ tsp)
- Cumin (¼ tsp)
- Salt (2 tsp)
Nutritional Value
The nutritional value of a single fried drumstick is as follows:
- 215 Calories
- 13g Fat
- 3g Saturated Fat
- 8g Carbohydrates
- 82mg Cholesterol
- 377mg Sodium
- 0g Fiber
- 0g Sugar
- 15g Protein
Tips for Chicken Deep Frying
Here are our tips on how to deep fry chicken legs in a deep fryer:
- The chicken you buy for frying has to be fresh looking and fresh smelling
- For breading the chicken, either use an all-purpose or cake flour. You can also use self-rising flour for a fluffier breading since it contains baking powder in it
- Mix baking powder and all-purpose flour in a 1:2 ratio to make your own self-rising flour
- Let the chicken bread sit only for a few minutes before putting it to fry
- Preheating the oil will compensate for the later heat drop when you add the chicken pieces to the oil
- Even when you fry the chicken well for the required time, you may find that the chicken is still under-fried. In this case, put it in the oven and wait for a few minutes
So, now you know how long to deep fry chicken legs and it’s around 15 minutes. But this also depends on how many pieces of chicken you’re frying at a time. Don’t put too many pieces in the deep fryer, or you’ll need a longer time. And don’t forget to follow our other deep fryer recipes and tips for having the best deep fried foods!
