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It’s delicious fried chicken – without the frying! Chicken leg quarters have never tasted so good. This easy recipe combines brining with oven frying for the best fried chicken you’ll never fry.

THE BEST UN-FRIED FRIED CHICKEN LEG QUARTERS

Patti Diamond
It’s delicious fried chicken – without the frying! Chicken leg quarters have never tasted so good. This easy recipe combines brining with oven frying for the best fried chicken you’ll never fry.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Course Dinner, Meal Prep
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

For the brine

  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 cup water + more to cover chicken
  • Ice

For the chicken

  • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken legquarters about 5 pounds
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
 

To brine the chicken

  • Let’s start with the brine, shall we? You’ll want to brine the chicken for a minimum of 3 hours but 8 hours to overnight is much, much better.
  • Combine 3 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 cup of water in a microwavable cup. Microwave for 1 minute, stir and put it back in for another 30 seconds to dissolve the salt and sugar.
  • Place the brine and chicken in a large bowl. Add very cold water to cover the chicken, topped off with a few cups of ice cubes. Cover and place it in the fridge to brine for 3 to 24 hours.

To oven fry the chicken

  • When you’re ready to cook, preheat oven to 400°F degrees. 
  • Remove chicken and discard brine. Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels.
  • Prepare the dredge. In a one-gallon zip top bag, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and garlic.
  • Add the chicken pieces one at a time, shaking to coat. Shake to remove excess flour and set aside. Repeat with each leg quarter. Discard remaining flour dredge.
  • Put the butter and olive oil in a roasting pan that’s large enough to hold all the chicken without crowding. Place the pan in the hot oven to melt the butter and preheat.
  • When it’s good and hot, place the chicken, skin side down, into the hot pan. Oven fry until beautifully golden brown, about 40 minutes.
  • Use a spatula to scrape them off the pan (so the skin doesn’t stick) and flip them over to finish cooking the other side, about 10 minutes. Because leg quarter size varies greatly you’ll need to test for doneness with a meat thermometer looking to read 165°. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before devouring.
Keyword Chicken, How To
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