Pan-Fried Chicken with a Golden Crispy Crust
Very beautiful, very tasty, very easy, and very budget-friendly! Pan-fried chicken with a golden crust is fairly simple to make. You’ll need a large skillet to fit the whole bird. It’s similar to chicken “tabaka,” just with different spices you choose to taste.
Updated : 20 January, 2026
Easy
About 30 min.
Ingredients
1 kilograms
Chicken
5
Garlic
2 tablespoon
Vegetable oil
to taste
Dry spices
to taste
Ground black pepper
to taste
Salt
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to pan-fry chicken with a golden crust? It’s very simple. You need a small chicken, no more than 1.2 kg (about 2.6 lb), and just a minimum of spices. In fact, you can use only salt and pepper. But I recommend adding a chicken seasoning blend as well.
Step 2
Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Cut the carcass lengthwise along the breastbone and flatten it with your hands to make it as flat as possible.
Step 3
Cover the chicken with a plastic bag or plastic wrap and pound it all over with the flat side of a meat mallet, or a smooth (non-toothed) mallet - especially around the bones. Do not use a toothed mallet, as it will badly damage the skin. The goal is to crack the bones and flatten the chicken so it lies fully against the skillet bottom while frying.
Step 4
Season the chicken on all sides with chicken spices (or a special “tabaka” blend) and ground black pepper. If using a ready-made spice blend, read the ingredients: many already contain salt and pepper, so adjust to avoid over-salting and over-peppering.
Step 5
Peel the garlic and press it through a garlic press or grate it on a fine grater.
Step 6
Mix the minced garlic with salt, a pinch of pepper, and the poultry seasoning blend. Add 1 tsp vegetable oil.
Step 7
Mash everything in a mortar with a pestle, or simply rub it together well with a spoon.
Step 8
Rub the chicken thoroughly with the aromatic mixture on all sides.
Step 9
Heat vegetable oil in a skillet. The skillet should be wide enough to fit the flattened chicken completely. Place the chicken in the skillet back-side up.
Step 10
Cover the chicken with a plate smaller than the skillet. Put a weight on top (for example, a jar of water). Fry over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes.
Step 11
Then flip the chicken onto its back (the other side).
Step 12
Return the plate and weight and fry for another 15 minutes, until a browned golden crust forms. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn and so all protruding parts press firmly against the skillet. Usually the drumsticks are the trickiest: they brown the worst and can stay pale while the rest is nicely golden.
Step 13
When the back is well browned, flip the chicken back-side up again and fry until done, about 10 more minutes.
Step 14
Transfer the cooked chicken to a platter and serve with any side dish. Enjoy!
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