Which breading or batter mix should you get for fried chicken? We dredged and fried 11 different brands to find the crunchiest and most flavorful ones.
Filipino-style fried chicken is as simple as it gets. If not fried bare like Max’s, it’s usually dry-dredged in flour or cornstarch, then fried until golden and crispy. The dredge can vary, with different ratios of flour and starch offering varying levels of crunch and texture.
For home cooks who want a quick, consistent, and hassle-free option, store-bought breading mixes are the go-to choice.
These pre-made breading mixes come with their own blend of starches, seasonings, and leaveners, ready for reliably crispy and flavorful fried chicken at home. But with so many brands on the grocery shelves, which one should you get?
I visited several grocery stores to gather all the brands for this list, which I’ve divided into two categories: breading mixes and batter mixes. Breading mixes are used for a dry dredge, coating the chicken directly. Batter mixes, on the other hand, require part of the mix to be whisked with water for a wet batter, with the rest saved for a dry dredge.
For testing, I used boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces like popcorn chicken. This made frying faster and simpler than using bone-in chicken. All the pieces were fried once, at the same oil temperature and for the same duration.
I came into this taste test with a lot of excitement. Eleven mixes = eleven different kinds of crispy, delicious fried chicken! Right?
This taste test revealed that most breading mixes are so similar in taste and texture that they’re nearly interchangeable. Even Crispy Joy, considered by many to be a household name in chicken breading, struggled to stand out. However, a few brands did shine with distinct flavors and better texture, and are listed below.
Despite what the packaging photos suggest, instant breading mixes won’t give you ultra-crispy, restaurant-style fried chicken.
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