How To Keep Fried Chicken From Getting Soggy As It Sits

Frying chicken traditionally involves taking the golden-brown delicacies and putting them on a paper towel or paper bag. This is done to drain the grease. However, it also runs the risk of turning the chicken soggy as it sits. The secret to great fried chicken is to keep it crisp, and no one knows that better than chef Art Smith, the man behind the Chicago-based Southern comfort food restaurant Chef Art Smith's Reunion. Luckily, we had a chance to talk with Art Smith recently about how to keep fried chicken from going soggy.

"To maintain the crispy texture," Smith told The Takeout. "Place the fried chicken on a baker's rack set over a baking sheet and keep it in a 250 degrees Fahrenheit oven with the door slightly ajar. This technique allows air to circulate around the chicken, preventing steam from softening the crust." The dry heat keeps the chicken dry and crisp, while the low temperature keeps the meat warm but not hot enough to dry out.

Chicken shacks use this method to keep their chicken crispy, only they use heat lamps that work like a 250 degree oven instead. The pieces are spread out on an elevated rack to allow the grease to drain and the air to flow. The heat lamps keep the meat warm and the outside crisp. However, this system only works for about two to four hours. Use the same rule for leaving your chicken in the oven after it's fried.

The baker's rack on a baking sheet setup works because it prevents the chicken from producing and sitting in its own steam and oil. While the traditional method to drain away grease is effective, paper towels and bags don't allow much air to flow under the chicken. As more cooked chicken is piled on, there's even less space for the air to flow. After being bathed in grease, the steam from the hot chicken is trapped between the meat and the skin. It has nowhere to go, so it's absorbed in the skin. 

What was once crispy skin becomes a soggy, less satisfying coating. The chicken on the bottom of the pile is not only stuck sopping up the steam, they also receive the grease that drains from all the pieces on top. Those greasy, soggy pieces are the least appetizing of all. If you mess up and your chicken becomes soggy anyway, there is a trick to make it crispy again, but it's better keep it from happening in the first place.