Frying chicken at home was something I never thought I could do. It seemed like such a daunting task. "The breading is not going to stick." "All this work, and that chicken is going to be gross and dry." "Doesn't it take like 5 gallons of vegetable oil?" "I don't have a cast iron pan." I never even considered attempting it until my fiancé and two of our closest friends all made it within a week of each other. That left me looking like a chicken - the lone cooktop range-r. With quarantine in full swing, I figured now was as good a time as any to get it done...
...and man was it easy. Almost too easy. And insanely flavorful and delicious. This is BY FAR the best thing I have made in a long time. So I am here to tell you, you can do it too!
BEFORE YOU SCROLL: While the recipe is easy, there is one thing you can not do without: a candy thermometer or other type of submersible thermometer that goes to at least 350°F!
Ingredients:
• 48 fl oz. Vegetable Oil (this amount of oil was perfect for a 10" pan)
• 6 pieces of chicken - I used boneless skinless thighs. If you use breasts, or bone-in chicken, you might need more brine and dredge - just make sure the buttermilk covers the chicken while it soaks!
Brine:
• 3 cups Buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Hot Sauce (I used Frank's RedHot Original)
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• a dash of Cayenne
Flour Dredge:
• 3 cups Cake Flour (AP flour is fine)
• 1/2 cup Cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 2 tsp Onion Powder
• 2 tsp Dried Italian Herb Seasoning
• 1 tsp White Pepper
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Hot Oil Sauce:
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper + 1 Tbsp Chili Powder (this is enough for a light nose-run-level kick - ramp this up to 4 Tbsp and cut out the chili powder)
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1 cup hot cooking oil
Instructions:
Brine the chicken – Mix all the brine ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken pieces, and toss with the brine to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours or overnight.
When ready to fry, make the flour dredge by mixing all ingredients in a large bowl or gallon zippy bag. I used a gallon zippy bag, and while cleanup was a total breeze, it was a little messy to transfer chicken pieces into and out of the bag.
Add oil to a deep cast iron pan, or a heavy bottom stock pot. You'll want about 3/4-1" of oil. Secure your candy thermometer to the side of the pot, and set the burner to medium-high heat. Let the oil heat for 5-10 minutes, until the temperature reaches 335°F.
Get your dredge/drip racks ready. In a perfect world, we all have cooling racks that fit precisely inside an edged sheet pan. Well, if you don't have this, no worries. Take an oven rack out of your oven, give it a good wash or wipe down, and voila, instant cooling rack. Check out my pics below to see exactly how it works.
Working one piece at a time, remove a piece of chicken from the buttermilk. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip off and transfer to the flour dredge. Coat in flour, shake off excess, and repeat. After the second flour dredge, lay the piece of chicken on the dredge rack. Repeat with all remaining pieces.
By now, your oil should be between 335°F and 350°F.
Add 2-3 pieces of chicken to the oil by slowly lowering each piece, without splashing. The temperature of your oil will drop when chicken pieces are initially added, but you'll need to adjust your flame/heat to maintain an oil temperature between 300-325°F during the remainder of the cooking time. Cook 6 minutes, flip, and cook another 6 minutes until deep golden brown. When done, move the chicken to a rack to drain and cool. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
While your chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the hot oil sauce (except the hot oil) to a small bowl. Mix with a fork and set aside.
When all the chicken has finished cooking and been moved to the draining rack, finish the hot oil sauce by adding 1 cup of hot oil. Brush each piece of chicken on all sides with the sauce.
Serve hot with a piece of bread (to soak up that yummy sauce), with bread and butter pickles!
Servings: (6) Pieces
Made it? Comment below!
NOTES:
Thighs are very forgiving. It's difficult to dry them out, and is a great section of chicken to start with for that exact reason.
How to use that leftover buttermilk?
• Chess Pie
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Buttermilk Ranch
Ingredients for the buttermilk brine.
Post dredging - ready to fry!
Bubbles!
Spooky guards the cooked chicken pieces.
Yum!
After brushing with the hot oil sauce, ready to devour!