Crispy-Good Keto Fried Chicken
Juicy chicken gets a crisp coating of crushed pork rinds and classic seasonings to create fried chicken that is truly legendary. Make it once and it’ll become a favorite. The best part? The crust stays crispy, even with refrigeration, so leftovers are exceptional. For the best chicken, monitor the oil temperature with a candy thermometer. Alternately, watch the oil carefully to ensure the crust doesn’t cook too quickly, fry the chicken as described below, and then bake until the juices run clear when you insert the tip a knife into the chicken all the way to the bone.
Ingredients List
- 16 oz bone-in, skin on chicken thighs
- 2 tsp sea salt, divided, plus more for seasoning
- ½ tsp freshly ground pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1¼ cup (2 oz) pork panko or finely crushed fried pork rinds
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme
- lard or peanut oil, for frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the three-quarters of the salt and all of the pepper. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 300ºF (149°C). In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the panko, Parmesan, Old Bay, and oregano with the remaining salt and a few grinds of pepper.
- Heat 1-1/2 inches oil to a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium-high until it reaches 365ºF. (If you don’t have a thermometer, the oil is ready when a bit of the breading dropped into it bubbles and sizzles steadily)
- Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
- Working one at a time, dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture to coat, then toss it in the pork panko mixture until evenly coated. Shake off the excess coating, then carefully place the piece of chicken in the oil, skin side down. Repeat with 1 more piece of chicken (do not crowd the skillet). Cook, adjusting the heat as needed to keep a steady sizzle and maintain 365ºF (185°C), until the chicken is deep golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Carefully flip each piece and cook until the other side is deep golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Place the chicken on the prepared rack on the sheet pan and place it in the hot oven. Repeat with the remaining chicken and cook the chicken until an instant-read thermometer stuck into its center reads 160ºF (71°C) , about 10 minutes. Leave the second batch pieces in the oven as long as the first ones, about 10 minutes total.
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Credits
RecipeEric Lundy
PhotographyErin Ng
Delicious!
Used this recipe with pork tenderloin steaks, dry-brined overnight. Did the fry step in about 3/8″ of bacon grease to avoid the cleanup for deep fry — it made no difference, still came out fantastic. Otherwise followed the original recipe. 850 grams of pork was just about right for the 2 egg recipe, except about 20% of the egg/cream mix was unused. Cooked three batches, thickest steaks first, and most of the grease was used up by the third batch. Keto dog was happy to dispose of all the tailings.
The finished pork steaks were moist, tender, and extremely tasty. Enjoyed by all, keto and carb-hounds alike. Glad we made extra!
To the editors and chefs, I get far too much junk email and delegate virtually every newsletter I receive to spam… but somehow I can’t manage to give Keto-Mojo Recipes the axe. Kudos.
Thank you so much for the rave reviews — and for continuing to receive our My Mojo Morsels newsletter 🙂 We appreciate your kind and supportive words.
This was a Fabulous recipe! The seasoning really made it stand out among other thigh recipes I’ve tried using pork rinds. Actually I did not have Old Bay seasoning. So I looked up how to make it & found that I had most of the ingredients in my cupboard. Realizing I probably would not use it again for a while, I just “shook” some of these into the mixture. Wow. I like having my husband looking over at me after only the very 1st bite & saying this is Great! Thanks for your recipe!!
I’ve tried pork rinds also before and didn’t care for them. Maybe if they were seasoned better ….perhaps I’ll give them another try.
can these be air fried? and what would temperatures and times be if it could be done.
Thanks in advance
We haven’t tested this method before, however, our chef believes that if you sprayed the breaded chicken with oil, then cooked at 375 for 15 minutes, flip, spray again, and cook another 12 to 15 minutes (or until an instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees) it is likely to work.
amazing
Wow – incredible recipe. Made this over the Fourth of July along with the cauliflower “potato” salad and both were a hit! Followed recipe As written and they came out crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Super impressed with both recipes – way to go Keto-mojo!