Church’s Texas Chicken Recipe: A Copycat Recipe From "Hack That Dish" for the Famous Fried Chicken by Todd Wilbur

On the list of inspirational American food success stories is the small fried chicken restaurant founded by George W. Church Sr., that opened across the street from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, in 1952. In the years since, Church's Texas Chicken has exploded into a huge chicken chain with over 1,500 restaurants in 23 countries.

George's special homestyle fried chicken formula was his secret recipe for success, and it seems that nobody truly hacked it. Until now. The ingredient list for this crispy chicken is shorter than what you might find in "The Colonel's" kitchen. Much of the flavor in this chicken recipe develops during the brining process, which also has the added benefit of keeping the chicken moist and juicy inside. I discovered that Church's marinates their chicken for 12 hours, so I've worked backward and designed a brine that does its job in exactly half a day.

You'll need to plan ahead for this recipe to give your chicken time to marinate. But your patience will be rewarded with the down-home taste of delicious Southern-style fried chicken. And here's some more good news: This hack includes two recipes! I've created a Church's copycat recipe for the original fried chicken, as well as instructions for duplicating the spicy version if you feel like turning up the heat.

Here is your shopping list for this copycat Church's Texas fried chicken recipe: kosher salt, MSG (monosodium glutamate), chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks, vegetable oil, all-purpose flour, baking powder, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and whole milk.

Top Secret Hack: For decades, monosodium glutamate (MSG) had a bad reputation, which was fueled by a letter published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 outlining symptoms that have since been debunked. But this flavor enhancer, a natural amino acid with salt attached, is a crucial ingredient in many dishes, and it's hard to make a good copy of many foods without it. Today, after being used in food around the world for over 100 years, it's generally agreed that the ingredient is safe to eat. You will need to use it to re-create the savory umami taste of this famous fried chicken, and many other recipes. (Read more about monosodium glutamate.)

Field Notes: To make Church’s Spicy Chicken, just add 2 tablespoons of ground cayenne pepper to the original breading mixture before breading the chicken.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 16 to 20 minutes
Inactive Time: 12 hours and 50 minutes
Total Time: 13 1/2 hours
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

Brine

• 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons MSG (monosodium glutamate)
• 6 cups water
• 4 whole chicken thighs
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• vegetable oil, for frying

Breading

• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons MSG
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups whole milk

Here's how to make it: 

1. To make brine: Dissolve salt and MSG in water. Add chicken and let it marinate for 12 hours in refrigerator. Remove chicken from brine after 12 hours and rinse it off.
2. Preheat at least 3 inches of oil in a large saucepan, dutch oven or deep fryer to 275 degrees F. While oil is preheating, remove chicken from refrigerator and let sit.
3. To make original breading: Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour milk into another medium bowl.
4. Blot chicken dry, then, working one piece at a time, dip chicken into breading, then knock off excess and dip it into milk. Let excess milk drip off for a moment, then put chicken back into breading. Toss chicken in breading several times, then shake off excess flour and dip it back into milk. Let excess milk drip off again and get chicken back into breading one more time. Toss chicken around thoroughly in breading so that a well-rippled coating of flour forms on chicken. Press down on chicken with your fingers as you toss it to help build up flour on skin of chicken so that large, crispy crumbs will form when it’s fried. Allow chicken to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking to help breading stick.
5. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F and place a sheet pan with a rack on top in oven.
6. Cook a few pieces of chicken at a time in oil for 16 to 20 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Turn pieces in oil as they cook for even browning. When done, transfer cooked chicken from oil to sheet pan to stay warm. Serve.

The excerpt is from Hack That Dish by Todd Wilbur. Copyright © 2026 by Todd Wilbur. Photographs by Harper Point Photography. Published by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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