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KFC's Fried chicken with french fries.

Fried chicken is chicken which is dipped in a breading mixture and then deep fried, pan fried or pressure fried. The breading seals in the juices but also absorbs the fat of the fryer, which is sometimes seen as unhealthy. The chicken itself may be chicken pieces on the bone with skin, or boneless and skinless pieces, usually breast meat, as in chicken fingers.

Fried chicken has a dual origin in the rural American South. The Scots had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat, unlike their English counterparts who baked or boiled chicken. Later, as African slaves were introduced to households as cooks, seasonings and spices were added that are absent in traditional Scottish cuisine, altering the flavor. Since slaves were often allowed to keep only chickens, frying chicken as a special occasion spread through the African American community. After slavery, poor rural southern blacks continued the tradition since chickens were often the only animals they could afford to raise. Since fried chicken could keep for several days, it traveled well, and also gained favor during segregation when blacks normally could not find places to eat and had to carry their own food. Southern whites also continued the tradition of frying chicken. While not limited like blacks socially, poor whites were no better off economically. Therefore, fried chicken continued to dominate as "Sunday dinner" or on other special occasions.

Cut up chicken is washed and drained . It can then be covered with milk or butter milk for a hour or fried directly. It is rolled in flour seasoned with spices, of which salt and pepper are the most common. The seasoned chicken is then placed in a heavy pan, preferably cast iron and fried in 350-375 F oil that reaches halfway up the chicken pieces. Melted lard is the preferred oil but is high in saturated fat. Peanut oil is a popular oil as well as vegetable and canola oil. As the pieces brown they are turned. The larger pieces such as breasts take longer to cook than the smaller wings. As the chicken is done (20-35 minutes) it is removed from the pan to drain. If southern style chicken cream gravy is desired all but a small amount of oil ( two or more tablespoons) is removed from the pan, an amount of flour equal to the oil is sprinkled about the pan , stirred and the flour allowed to cook over low heat for a few minutes. Milk, half and half or cream is then added and salt and pepper seasoning. The gravy mixture is stirred and thickened, then it can be placed upon the chicken or upon mashed potatoes or rice. Cooked fried chicken can also be finished by baking in the oven or cooked covered with a lid over the pan. This method is also known as "Maryland Fried Chicken" or "Chicken Maryland", particularly when it is covered with the chicken cream gravy as described above.

Southern fried chicken cooked in a pan is a difficult American dish to re-create. Simple as the instructions are, there are many things to consider. The size of the pan, amount of chicken placed in the pan, amount of heat applied, and the ratio of flour to oil and milk in the cream gravy. All can vary the resulting dish. Chicken cooked too fast will brown too much and remain red upon the bone, Chicken cooked too slow will absorb too much oil and be greasy. Crispy, well-cooked Southern fried chicken requires a skilled experienced cook.

• Chicken fingers - also known as chicken strips or chicken tenders, this is one of the most common forms of fried chicken, generally pieces of chicken breast (sometimes with rib meat) cut into long strips, breaded or battered dipped, and deep fried.
• Chicken nuggets
• Buffalo wings, or the boneless buffalo fingers
• Popcorn chicken - occasionally known as chicken bites or other similar terms, small morsels of boneless chicken, battered and fried, resulting in little nuggets that resemble popcorn.
• Chicken patties - breaded, fried patties of chicken meat used in sandwiches.
• Chicken Fries - chicken nuggets in the shape of french fries, popularized by the fast-food chains Burger King and KFC. These may also be referred to as chicken sticks.
• Chicken Chipees - chicken meat chopped and shaped into chips coated with potato crumbs. Popular in Australia
• Chicken Karaage
• Chicken Katsu - Panko breaded chicken one to two centimeters thick and sliced to bite sized pieces, served with cabbage. A variant of tonkatsu, used in the Hawaiian plate lunch.
• Country Fried Chicken - chicken meat that has been coated with flour or breaded,fried and served topped with country cream gravy.

A variant of fried chicken known as prawn paste chicken or shrimp paste chicken ("蝦醬雞", or "har cheong kai" in Cantonese) can be found in Hongkong-style restaurants in Singapore and Malaysia. This variety is not dissimilar to the common deep-fried version, except that the breading mixture includes pureed shrimp and ginger juice, giving it a distinctive aroma and flavor. The origin of prawn paste chicken is unknown, but various sources name it as Macau or Shandong.

• Church's Chicken
• Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits
• Bojangles'
• Roy Rogers Family Restaurants
• Chick-fil-A
• Harold's Chicken Shack
• Chicken fried steak
• John T. Edge - Author of Fried Chicken: An American Story
• Austin Leslie - Known as the Godfather of Fried Chicken
• Crispy fried chicken - a dish from the Cantonese cuisine of China
• KFC

• Austin Leslie's recipe in Food and Wine, adapted from John T. Edge's Fried Chicken