Turkish-style kefir fried chicken drumsticks

By Nik, founder of 東歐嚴選｜kefir.link and former chef · Updated 2 November 2026

Soak chicken drumsticks in kefir overnight, roll them in whole-wheat flour seasoned with paprika and garlic, and you have the crisp, golden crust of Turkish kefir fried chicken. The thick kefir helps the flour cling to every piece, and its mild acidity works on the meat while it rests in the fridge. A short fry gives the colour, and the oven finishes the cooking, so the inside is done before the crust turns too dark.

Kefir plays the part of buttermilk

Turkish home cooks make a crisp fried chicken by soaking drumsticks in kefir before coating and frying them, and serve it with chips and coleslaw. Kefir does the same job that buttermilk does in American fried chicken. Its mild acidity tenderises the meat, and its thickness helps the spiced flour stick.

An overnight soak leaves the chicken more tender, but soaking much longer can make the meat soft and mushy. The acid works only on the outer few millimetres, and too long a soak turns that layer mealy, so keep the soak to 24 hours at most.

Fry for colour, bake to finish

A floured crust browns faster than a drumstick cooks through, so the chicken is fried only until golden and then finished in the oven. Oil that is too hot burns the outside while the meat near the bone is still raw. Oil that is too cool soaks into the coating and leaves it greasy and soft. Crowding the pot drops the temperature, so fry in small batches and let the oil heat up again in between, checking it with a thermometer.

Once the chicken is cooked, drain it on a wire rack in a single layer. Chicken piled on paper towels quickly loses its crunch, and the crust turns soggy.