Crispy Fried Chicken Gizzards

Why This Crispy Fried Chicken Gizzards Works

Soaking the gizzards in buttermilk for a few hours is what changes them from tough and chewy to something that can actually be bitten through. During that time, the buttermilk slowly works into the meat and starts to loosen up the tight muscle fibers. As the gizzards sit, they also take in a bit of moisture, so they don’t dry out when they hit the hot oil.

Once the gizzards go from the buttermilk into the seasoned flour, the wet surface grabs onto the flour and spices and forms a thick coating. In the hot oil, that coating firms up first and creates a crisp shell. While the outside browns and turns crunchy, the coating acts like a little jacket, so the inside has time to cook through and soften more without turning hard. Frying in batches keeps the oil hot, so each piece comes out evenly browned, with a crunchy outside and a tender, not rubbery, center.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the oil get too hot makes the outside of the gizzards brown very fast while the inside stays tough and undercooked. The crust looks done, so they come out early, but the centers stay chewy and hard instead of firm and tender.

Skipping the buttermilk soak, or cutting it very short, leaves the gizzards tight and rubbery. Without that time in the buttermilk, the meat doesn’t relax, so even after frying they stay very hard to bite and never get that pleasant chew.

Crowding the pan during frying drops the oil temperature and traps steam around the gizzards. Instead of getting a crisp shell, the coating softens, turns pale, and can slide off, leaving greasy, uneven pieces.

Pulling the gizzards straight from the buttermilk into the flour without draining off the excess makes thick, gummy clumps of coating. Those heavy spots don’t crisp well, soak up more oil, and can fall off in the fryer, leaving bare, bumpy meat.