Something special happens when you marinate chicken in sweet tea then bread and fry until golden brown and crispiest. Seriously ain’t nothing like my sweet tea fried chicken. The sweet and savory vibes keep you guessing making things a little different from anything else you have ever tried before. Get into it!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
How to Make Sweet Tea Fried Chicken
For the Tea:
- Heat water in a medium sized pot until boiling.
- Turn off heat and add tea bags. Let tea steep for 20-30 minutes then remove bags.
- Stir in sugar and lemon juice until completely dissolved then let tea come to room temperatue.
- Add tea to large bowl then submerge chicken pieces in tea. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours depending on level of sweetness you want your chicken to have.
For the Chicken:
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together eggs and set aside.
- Add flour, seasoned salt, cornstarch, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to a paper bag and shake to mix well.
- Dip each piece of chicken into egg wash coating both sides then dip into seasoned flour thoroughly coating each piece. Then add piece to baking sheet to rest.
- Finish coating all chicken and let sit for 10-15 minutes until coating has set.
- While coating sets, add 1-1/2 inches of oil to a cast iron skillet or heavy bottom skillet and heat over medium high heat. Also turn on oven to 275 degrees.
- This is my test for knowing when the oil is ready: Big Mama always tossed a tiny bit of flour in the oil and if it began to fry and sizzle, the oil was ready.
- Fry four pieces at a time on each side starting with dark meat since it takes longer. Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan.
- After each side has turned slightly golden, put the top on the skillet to steam the inside of the chicken ensuring doneness. After a couple of minutes, remove the top and continue to fry until the crust is crispy again and completely golden brown.
- Remove chicken from oil and place on paper towels or rack to drain. Place chicken on a baking sheet covered with parchment and add to warmed oven while finishing the other chicken pieces.
- Fry the remaining chicken pieces and drain and add to oven. Add the remaining chicken to the oven.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Serving suggestions
- A scoop of creamy, dreamy Southern Macaroni and Cheese offers a cheese-tastic cuddle to your taste buds.
- Southern Collard Greens bring home that smoky, hearty goodness.
- Don’t forget a hunk of Southern Cornbread, perfect for soppin’ up.
- Toss up some Black Eyed Peas for a savory side.
- Top that chicken with Chicken Gravy for a nice rich vibe.
Favorite Fried Recipes
Love it fried? Try these incredible fried recipes:
Find more Fried Chicken recipes like this recipe, click HERE
Sweet Tea Fried Chicken
This Sweet tea fried chicken recipe is crunchy, incredibly flavorful and irresistible! Southern sweet tea becomes the perfect brine for a twist on classic fried chicken!
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Servings: 10 chicken pieces
Ingredients
For the Tea:
- 5 cups water
- 5-6 teabags
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
For the Chicken:
- 8-10 chicken pieces
- 3 large eggs
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
Instructions
For the Tea:
- Heat water in a medium sized pot until boiling.
- Turn off heat and add tea bags. Let tea steep for 20-30 minutes then remove bags.
- Stir in sugar and lemon juice until completely dissolved then let tea come to room temperatue.
- Add tea to large bowl then submerge chicken pieces in tea. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours depending on level of sweetness you want your chicken to have.
For the Chicken:
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together eggs and set aside.
- Add flour, seasoned salt, cornstarch, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to a paper bag and shake to mix well.
- Dip each piece of chicken into the seasoned floor coating both sides then into the egg wash coating both sides then dip into seasoned flour again thoroughly coating each piece. Then add piece to baking sheet to rest.
- Finish coating all chicken and let sit for 15-20 minutes until coating has set.
- While coating sets, add 1-1/2 inches of oil to a cast iron skillet or heavy bottom skillet and heat over medium high heat. Also turn on oven to 275 degrees.
- This is my test for knowing when the oil is ready: Big Mama always tossed a tiny bit of flour in the oil and if it began to fry and sizzle, the oil was ready.
- Fry four pieces at a time on each side starting with dark meat since it takes longer. Make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan.
- After each side has turned slightly golden, put the top on the skillet to steam the inside of the chicken ensuring doneness. After a couple of minutes, remove the top and continue to fry until the crust is crispy again and completely golden brown.
- Remove chicken from oil and place on paper towels or rack to drain. Place chicken on a baking sheet covered with parchment and add to warmed oven while finishing the other chicken pieces.
- Fry the remaining chicken pieces and drain and add to oven. Add the remaining chicken to the oven.
- Serve when ready.
Notes
How to Store and Reheat
To store your sweet tea fried chicken, let it cool completely then place it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate. To reheat, bake the chicken in a 375°F oven until it’s hot and crispy again, which should take about 15-20 minutes to get back that fresh-from-the-skillet magic.
Nutrition
Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 2187mg | Potassium: 258mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 4.8mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2.7mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GrandbabyCakes or tag #grandbabycakes!
pinterest 
facebook 
twitter 
email
Can you use unsweetened tea? I am diabetic rather not use all that sugar.
I haven’t made this recipe with unsweetened tea; the sugar in the tea helps give the chicken a slight sweet note. You can try unsweetened, though.
You are a mad genius! I read this recipe and thought ya’ll must have gone crazy. Nevertheless, my curiosity was piqued and I gave it a try. Oh my goodness they tasted amazing. I will never question your ingenuity again. Absolutely incredible! Thank you so much for this and all your recipes.
I think you are wonderful and such a Blessing, I bought your cookbook on holiday recipes and can’t wait to get your chicken I know it will be wonderful, all the ingredients are my favorite and thanks for you time to answer questions for everyone that’s says what a wonderful person you are. Look forward to making your recipes will let you know how great they are. Have a Blessed day in the Lord!!!☺
Oh thank you so so much for your support! I appreciate this beautiful message.
I officially luvz you! : ) All these recipes really made my day, reminds me so much of my Mum!
Do you have a recipe for BBQ pig tail and ears? I haven’t had it in so long and never with an authentic recipe just my Mum cooking it until it was tender and baking it with store bought BBQ sauce : )
Love from Western Canada : D
Thanks so much for the love however I don’t have the pig tail and ears recipe unfortunately.
I made this chicken for my husband for Father’s Day. He said it was the best and most flavorful chicken he had ever had! I normally bake chicken and was a little intimidated to fry it, but I’m glad I did. My 11 y.o. twins loved it as well. Definitely going to be my go to recipe!
Thank you for sharing such a magnificent recipe!
My husband wants to try to smoke the tea infused wings. Minus the flour of course. 😉
Oh that sounds amazing. Let me know how that turns out!
Oh my goodness! My husband grew up eating fried chicken on Sundays and I was so scared to make some but stumbled across this recipe. It is SO GOOD. I used your oven fried chicken recipe but used this brine for the seasoning. Thank you so much for posting! I will definitely be making this again 🙂
Fantastic! What a great idea. I hope you enjoyed it all!!!
This looks absolutely AMAZING! And easy too. I’m also one of those people who are afraid to fry anything LOL. I’m always afraid I’m going to mess it up. But you really explain each step very well, and I think I can do this! I’m going to give it a try for the next potluck this summer. I figure if I’m going to heat up a bunch of oil, I might as well fry for a crowd.
Hooray I hope you enjoy it!
I cannot have fried foods at this time, but this recipe sounds amazing!!!! Would it work baked in the oven and if so, how would I need to adjust the recipe? It just looks so good that I want to start a jug of tea tomorrow just to see how it would taste!!!
Hi Kim, absolutely! Try this recipe for my oven fried chicken but marinate it in the sweet tea. The best of both worlds. Let me know how it turns out. https://grandbaby-cakes.com/2014/09/oven-fried-chicken-tenders/
My second batch of chicken never looks great like the first one. It seems like the outside layer cooks quicker than the inside resulting in a burnt crust. Any suggestions? What skillets or pots would you recommend frying chicken in?
Also check your oil after you take out the first batch of chicken. You sometimes need to adjust the oil because it changes after the chicken is removed. I love a cast iron skillet for frying.