The Retro Trick From The '80s That Can Give Fried Chicken A Perfect Golden Color

One of the lesser-known mistakes people make when cooking fried chicken is neglecting the old saw that tells us people eat with their eyes first. You could, conceivably, make the most succulent and toothsome dinner in the world — our trick for making the best fried chicken involves MSG, a secret umami-boosting ingredient that's been unfairly maligned — but, if it's pale and unsightly, few people will take a bite. Some of our culinary forebears in the 1980s had a special hack for ensuring that their fried chicken looked mm-mm good regardless of what was in the batter. It's potentially controversial today, but it got some serious traction during the Reagan administration.

Basically, home cooks mimicked the buttery appearance of expertly-fried chicken by adding yellow food coloring to their oil. Even Heloise, the syndicated alias of domestic expert and writer Eloise Bowles Cruse, swore by this tip in her popular newspaper column. Many of today's fried chicken connoisseurs would almost certainly refuse to try this, not just because dyeing chicken smacks of trickery, but also because we as a society have become a lot more cautious about the willy-nilly use of food dyes in the 21st century. Look no further than the FDA's well-publicized 2025 ban on Red Dye No. 3 — we now understand that artificial dyes can have unwanted health consequences that simply aren't worth the minuscule benefit of making fried chicken more golden. However, there is a more natural workaround you may still wish to use.

If you still want to augment your fried chicken with yellow coloring, however, you happily have some better choices than a squeeze bottle of fake chemicals. Plant-based food coloring is vegan, natural, and free of artificial dyes. Since a golden hue is the end goal, we also like using turmeric root powder, which turns everything it touches a vibrant shade of amber. In fact, turmeric is so good at its job that using too much will actually impart a flaming orange tint, which may have a contrary effect on folks' desire to eat your chicken.

Since yellow dye may be considered out of the question by many people here in the 21st century, you might want to focus your efforts on cooking techniques that guarantee the prettiest fried chicken, such as cooking in peanut or canola oil, adding cornstarch to your batter, and not crowding the frying pan. A double dredge before frying, as well as quickly transferring your cooked chicken into a low-heat oven to maintain crispness, will also help the height and texture of your crust. Perfectly picturesque fried chicken is a labor of love and can't be rushed. If time is of the essence, you might want to simply rearrange your dinner menu. Practice makes perfect when it comes to frying chicken, as many a Southern grandma can attest, so don't get frustrated if your first couple of attempts don't resemble a Pinterest post.