Fried chicken is the perfect food. It is crunchy, crispy, moist, and juicy. Most people reach for a cup of beer to pair with fried chicken.
However, wine pairs even better with fried chicken.
Yes, I said it. Wine is the ideal beverage for crispy, delicious fried chicken.
The right wine can enhance the flavor of fried chicken. The perfect wine can also cut through the greasy rich flavor of the fried chicken or soften the spicy flavor of sauces.
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Does Red or White Wine Go With Fried Chicken?
The rule for wine pairing is that red meats go with red wines, and white wines go with white wines. For this reason, most people pair fried chicken with white wine.
However, fried chicken is robust enough to pair with red wine. However, do not pair fried chicken with medium to full-bodied wines with high tannins and robust flavors. These wines will ruin the fried chicken flavors.
It’s much better to pair fried chicken with light-bodied red wines. The mild fruity flavors can handle the crunchy carb-rich coating. However, soft red wines also have a subtle acidity and low tannins that cut through the richness of the chicken.
Nevertheless, if you want to play it safe, you can always serve fried chicken with a glass of white wine.
What Wine Pairs With Fried Chicken?
Fried chicken does not pair with all wines. You can season fried chicken in different ways. Furthermore, they can be coated in sauces or served with ranch dressing or another sauce.
Therefore, you must pay attention to the chicken, but you must also pay attention to the ingredients used to make the chicken. So, I thought I’d make your work even easier by telling you which wine works best with which style of fried chicken.
Southern Fried Chicken
Southern fried chicken is seasoned to perfection, then dusted with seasoned flour and deep fried in vegetable oil. This crispy, crunchy, greasy chicken works best with sparkling wines like Champagne.
Champagne has a bubbly acidic texture that cuts through the fatty chicken. More importantly, it does not overpower the delicate flavor of the chicken.
Nashville Hot Chicken
Nashville hot chicken is marinated with buttermilk and coated in a spicy hot sauce. The rich flavors of extra-dry prosecco work perfectly with Nashville hot chicken.
This fragrant wine has a smooth viscosity. The acidic texture helps tame the spicy flavor of the Nashville hot chicken while cleansing the palette.
Taiwanese Fried Chicken Steak
Taiwanese fried chicken steak is made by marinating chicken in a soy-sauce marinade. Next, the chicken is fried, resulting in a crisp, juicy.
Since Taiwanese fried chicken steaks have such a complex, robust flavor, the wine pairing has to be on point.
Luckily you don’t have to worry about pairings for this style of fried chicken.
Taiwanese fried chicken steaks are relatively salty since they are marinated in soy sauce. Therefore, you will need a wine to cut through the salty flavor.
Unlike Southern fried chicken, Taiwanese fried chicken steaks cannot be paired with acidic wines. The acidity will amplify the salty flavor and overwhelm your pallet.
It’s best to choose high-quality wines with low acidity and a hint of sweetness. The sweetness will contrast perfectly with the salty flavor of the soy sauce.
Wines such as Semillon, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Grenache Blanc work perfectly with Taiwanese fried chicken steaks.
The wine’s sweetness will cut through the salty flavor and cleanse the palette. However, the wine’s sweetness will also help accentuate the sweet flavors in the soy sauce.
Buffalo Wings
Buffalo wings are fried until crunchy. They may be coated in flour or fried naked. Once the wings are fried, they are coated in hot sauce.
The buffalo wings can be mild, medium, or hot, depending on your palette. Buffalo wings have tangy yet spicy.
Sparkling Rose is perfect for buffalo wings. Sparkling Rose wines have a little more flavor than regular sparkling wines.
Sparkling Rose wines have strawberry and white cherry flavors. These flavors can stand on their own against buffalo wings’ tangy, spicy flavor.
Japanese Fried Chicken
Japanese fried chicken or chicken Karaage is marinated before it is fried. The chicken is boneless and skinless and marinated with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sake. Mirin (sweet rice wine) can also be used to marinate the chicken.
Japanese fried chicken is served with a dipping sauce like mayonnaise-based sauce.
Dry white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc work perfectly with Japanese fried chicken. Sauvignon Blanc is filled with lime, passion fruit, and white peach flavors.
These flavors balance out the robust flavor of Japanese fried chicken.
A lighter-bodied red wine such as Pinot Noir is also perfect for Japanese fried chicken. The acidity should cut through the rich fried chicken without overpowering the flavor of the chicken.
Pinot Noir’s fruity flavors of cherry, raspberry, mushrooms, and vanilla will contrast beautifully with the delicate savory flavor of Japanese fried chicken.
Korean Double-fried Chicken
Korean Double fried chicken is one of the most delicious styles of fried chicken. Nevertheless, you must choose a wine that accentuates the dish.
Riesling is the perfect wine for Korean fried chicken. Riesling wine has fragrant floral notes, and its flavor is rich with peaches and apricots.
Riesling wine can balance out the flavor of Korean fried chicken.
You can also pair Korean fried chicken with Gewürztraminer. Gewürztraminer is a robust fragrant white wine. It has flavors of lychee, baking spice, and roses.
The subtle acidity cuts through the greasy Korean fried chicken. However, it also enhances the flavor of the seasonings used to marinate the chicken.
Final Thoughts
Fried chicken is one of the best foods on the planet. It is crispy, juicy, and so addicting.
Pairing fried chicken with the right wine can enhance its flavors. However, the wrong wine can ruin the flavor of fried chicken.
Luckily, this won’t be an issue since you can use the wines mentioned above as a string point.