The Canned Soup You Need For Juicy Fried Chicken

Growing up, my Aunt Kellie would make delicious fried chicken. It usually required cleaning out the kitchen sink and then filling it with chicken wings to be coated and soaked in her usual spices and buttermilk. One thing she never did, however, was use condensed cream of chicken soup as a substitute for the buttermilk, which is apparently a secret ingredient to moist and juicy chicken with a crispy outside.

Instead of using buttermilk, coating your chicken using the condensed soup with an egg and seasonings (such as garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder) can create even juicer chicken due to the thickness of the soup. For this, do not use a clear chicken soup, as it will not be thick enough to hold the flour or breadcrumbs used for the skin.

Once the soup and spices are mixed, let the chicken sit in the mixture and put it in the fridge in a zip lock bag for at least 30 minutes — but the longer the better. After it's done marinating, coat in a flour mixture that will have the same spices as the soup mix, and then get to frying! This trick will work with all kinds of fried chicken: American fried chicken, Korean-style, you name it.

The great thing about having cream of chicken soup on hand is the amount of recipes you can make with it. Some of my all-time favorite comfort meals growing up required a can and most can be done in a casserole dish or a crock pot! One in particular is known as the "Million-Dollar Chicken Casserole," but my grandmother simply called it creamy chicken casserole. You combine shredded chicken, the soup, cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and spices all together and put it in a baking dish. My grandmother added frozen veggies as well.

Another delicious recipe that I bring for just about every potluck is called Tater Tot casserole. This requires both cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup. For this one, you'll cook a pound of ground beef (before it turns grey) with whatever seasonings you want and place it in a casserole dish. Then, put frozen veggies on top of the beef before adding the soup in an even layer. After that, add a layer of shredded cheese and place the tater tots evenly on top before baking for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Either way you swing it, cream of chicken soup can easily become a staple ingredient in your home.