Katie Lee Biegel’s Sweet Tea Oven-Fried Chicken Is So Crispy, You Won’t Believe It’s Baked

If there’s one thing Katie Lee Biegel knows how to do, it’s combine nostalgia and comfort in a way that’s totally doable for weeknight cooking. And on a January episode of The Kitchen, she did exactly that with her grandma’s beloved sweet tea oven-fried chicken—a recipe that’s been in her family for generations, and one she says is a permanent favorite in her household.

“This is a recipe that my grandmother would make that is awesome,” Katie says. “She didn’t do this sweet tea brine, but she would do the oven-frying.” And while the tea may be her own modern touch, the recipe keeps all the crispy, golden, old-school flavor you’d expect from classic Southern fried chicken — no deep fryer needed.

The tea brine that changes the game

Katie’s biggest twist is in the brine: She dunks the chicken in sweet tea for four hours (or overnight) to add flavor and keep the meat extra tender. “The tea will tenderize the chicken and the sweetness adds flavor, the salt adds flavor,” she explains. If you don’t want to make your own, she adds that it’s perfectly fine to use store-bought sweet tea as long as it’s just tea, sugar and water—“none of the junk.”

Of course, you can also skip the tea brine altogether. Katie herself says she sometimes does this and simply oven-fries the chicken for an easy, last-minute dinner. But in her opinion, the brine gives it a little extra “somethin’ somethin’.”

Katie’s tips for old-fashioned oven-fried chicken

Throughout the episode, Katie shares some helpful tips about how she cooks this old-school recipe, just like her grandma.

• Skip the salt. Instead of salt, Katie uses soy sauce in the brine so she doesn’t have to heat the liquid to dissolve salt. Soy sauce dissolves more easily and saves time.
• Preheat the pan with butter. Before baking, Katie melts some butter (a whole stick) on a rimmed sheet pan in the preheated oven. Preheating the pan helps the chicken start cooking the second it touches the hot butter. “The fat in the chicken skin is gonna combine with the fat of the butter and you’re gonna be frying it in its own fat and the butter,” she says.
• Don’t skip the paper bag dredge. It’s how Katie’s grandma did it and it creates an ultra-crispy crust. She adds the dredge ingredients, tosses in the chicken and gives the bag a good shake, making sure each piece is fully coated. You can double-bag to prevent any spillage.

Katie Lee Biegel’s sweet tea oven-fried chicken recipe

If you’re ready for some “I can’t believe it’s not fried chicken,” here’s Katie’s official recipe. And when it comes out of the oven, she likes to rub each piece in the leftover butter and chicken fat on the pan for that extra shine. The golden crust, crispy bits and buttery finish? “To die for.”

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sweet tea (store-bought or homemade)
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 whole chicken (bone-in, skin-on), cut into 8 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ Tbs. paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 4 Tbs. unsalted butter
• Lemon wedges, for serving, optional

Directions:

• Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes (including brining)
• Serves: 6 servings

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the sweet tea and soy sauce. Add the garlic, onion and chicken, then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least four hours or up to overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Remove the chicken from the sweet tea and use a paper towel to pat dry. Sprinkle each side of the chicken generously with salt.
3. In a shallow dish or bowl, add the flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
4. Place the butter on a rimmed baking sheet. Put it into the oven until melted, about two minutes. Thoroughly coat each piece of chicken in the flour mixture, then place each skin-side down in the melted butter.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown and crispy and the chicken registers 165° F on a meat thermometer (avoiding bone), another 20-30 minutes. Serve with lemon, if desired.

“Can you believe that wasn’t fried?” she asks. “It just melts in your mouth,” says co-host Jeff Mauro. “This chicken Katie is top to bottom, three-sixty delicious.”