Follow these steps to find solve your Southern fried chicken issues:

1) There is one point to note, Southern fried chicken outlets use pressure cookers to fry their chicken pieces so unless you have a way of pressure frying, it will be quite difficult to duplicate the exact authenticity of the chicken shop experience. However if you are fortunate to have access to a pressure fryer, follow my recipe omitting step 1 in the method

2) If you want to make fried chicken, you can get good results using a fryer, broiler, capon, young chicken, and rooster or game hen.

3) Soaking the chicken overnight in brine or buttermilk makes the meat more tender and juicy.

4) Slice whole chicken breasts in half for more even cooking. They also cook faster like this.

5) Adding celery sticks to the frying oil enhances the colour and flavour of the fried chicken.

6) Dry any wet utensils before they touch the hot cooking oil to avoid the hot fat spattering.

7) Use tongs instead of a fork to turn the chicken. A fork might pierce the skin and the chicken will lose juices.

8) Fry the chicken pieces in batches to avoid overcrowding, as well as loss of temperature in the oil.

9) If you like your chicken fried, try peanut oil. It gives the chicken a great flavour.

10) Drain fried chicken on a brown paper bag or metal rack. Draining it on paper towels might make it lose crispness. In addition, covering it will make it lose all crispness.