Gordon Ramsay Swears By This 5-Ingredient Spice Blend For Fried Chicken

Perfect fried chicken is all about layers. To create a taste that makes you want to sink your choppers into a leg of golden fried chicken that is perfectly crunchy and seasoned on the outside and succulent and flavorful on the inside, each phase of making this comfort food impacts what your taste buds will experience. No one knows this better than Gordon Ramsay, and that's why he uses a 5-ingredient spice blend to give it a tasty kick.

Per a YouTube video, after bathing his chicken pieces in a bath of seasoned buttermilk, he dredges it in seasoned flour. The "Hell's Kitchen" host first adds a little salt and pepper combo to the flour, followed by some smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. He mixes everything together before dredging his pieces of chicken in it, creating a delicious outer coating for fried chicken. Gordon notes that the smoked paprika gives it a "little bit of sort of maintenance" while the cayenne pepper adds a little kick. The garlic powder adds both fragrance and a sweet, savory bite.

While the buttermilk bath breaks down proteins and tenderizes the chicken, it also imparts rich, acidic notes to the chicken. This is the base flavor of your fried chicken. When you dredge it through seasoned flour as Gordon Ramsay does, it adds a beautiful taste to the golden brown, fried pieces of chicken. Just be sure to pat the flour coat onto the chicken so it sticks and is nice and thick. This will give you all those beautiful, craggily bits that taste so yummy.

While the cookbook author and entrepreneur likes his chicken to have a little spice to it, you can use whatever spices fit your fancy. While salt, pepper, and garlic powder are a must to both season and enhance, thyme, oregano, and basil can add lovely, herby notes to your dredge to give your fried chicken a superior taste. If you want a heat with some sweetness, try adding a little ground ginger. You can even add Old Bay to your flour dredges and taste the magic. Your spice cabinet is your oyster. So, the next time you're making your favorite Southern fried chicken don't forget to season your dredging flour to create an unforgettably, flavorful bite.