Why Instant Mashed Potatoes Can Make For Super Crispy Fried Chicken

A good piece of fried chicken is the kind of comfy meal that people take great pride and care in making. Many families pass down their fried chicken recipes for generations, and it's a skill that takes time and practice to master. Getting crispy and crunchy fried chicken is the true goal, and there's one way to do that most people don't know about. Rather than relying on beer batter, corn flakes, or panko, you might want to open up a box or bag of instant mashed potatoes.

Making chicken this way is crazy easy and only needs a few ingredients. First, marinate your chicken and dip it in egg wash, buttermilk, or other liquids that will make the breading cling. Then, either use a mixture of flour and instant potatoes or just instant potatoes as dry breading. Roll the chicken in the potatoes until it's fully coated. If you want a trick for fully-breaded fried chicken, consider shaking the chicken in the potatoes inside a paper bag. Shake off any excess potatoes, then set the pieces aside until you've prepped the whole batch. At this point, you can do a second round of dredging if you want them extra crunchy.

Now, it's cooking time, and you can use whatever method you're comfy with. You can fry the chicken in lard, hot oil, or even chicken fat itself. For slightly healthier options, you can bake or air-fry the chicken in a little spray-on cooking oil, without sacrificing the crunch. Once it's golden brown, take it out and let it dry, then serve up some fried chicken that all ages will enjoy.

The result of these efforts is a shockingly crunchy and crispy outer layer that's akin to chicken schnitzel. The potato flakes absorb a lot of moisture from the eggs or buttermilk, binding them tightly together in a non-porous layer. So when that dense breading hits the hot fat, the sudden change creates a crisping reaction and puffs up. Meanwhile, the breading keeps the chicken inside nice and moist while offering a smooth potatoe-y taste around it. The method works well to elevate homemade chicken tenders as well as more traditional fried chicken legs.

The chicken takes the instant potatoes themselves up a notch, too. The saltiness of instant potatoes goes well with the rich butteriness of chicken, creating a perfect match. Not to mention, many instant potatoes are gluten-free, and most are wheat-free, giving people with various allergies a chance to enjoy this Southern-inspired delight.

One of the coolest things about this kind of fried chicken is that you can get seasoned mashed potatoes to change up the flavor. If you want to fry some chicken breasts for chicken parm, consider using a roasted garlic instant potato with grated parmesan. If you're going to be giving them to children with mac and cheese, there are four-cheese instant potato options. Serve the chicken with some BBQ sauce to accompany loaded or bacon instant potatoes.

The breading method is easy, so it makes sense that getting flavorful chicken this way is easy, too. This hidden virtue of instant mashed potatoes means you can enjoy simple comfort food without hassle.