Sweet Spicy Fried Chicken
“I would eat fried chicken every day of my life.” The farmer stated matter-of-fact.
“But isn’t it a southern-Sunday-supper-sort-of-thing?” I asked.
“Absolutely not.”
Sweet Spicy Fried Chicken
Ingredients
6-8 chicken legs
2 Tbsp salt
4 cups water
3 egg whites
1 tsp Cholula hot sauce
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
½ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
½ tsp Dickie Bird garlic salt
1 tsp sugar
Vegetable oil for frying
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Directions
1. Combine salt and water in a large bowl. Brine chicken legs for 6 hours¹.
2. Remove chicken from brine and allow chicken to rest for 2 hours, uncovered, in refrigerator.
3. Jab meatiest portion of each leg to help cook thoroughly.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and 1 tsp hot sauce until peaks form.
5. In a shallow dish combine flour, cornmeal, seasonings and sugar.
6. Dip chicken legs in egg mixture, then drench in flour. Allow to sit at room temp while oil heats.
7. Heat oil for frying, about 325-350 degrees.
8. Warm oven.
9. Fry chicken golden in small batches. Drain on paper towels.
10. Place fried chicken on a foil lined baking sheet in warmed oven to keep crispy until all chicken in cooked.
11. Whisk together honey, hot sauce and butter in a small bowl. Drizzle over hot chicken just before serving.
¹Brine: It’s not your imagination. Your grandmother’s fried chicken was the best ever- likely because she brined it in saltwater before frying. Brining is an old-time country cook tradition that pulls salt through cell walls, trapping moisture inside the meat.
“But isn’t it a southern-Sunday-supper-sort-of-thing?” I asked.
“Absolutely not.”
Sweet Spicy Fried Chicken
Ingredients
6-8 chicken legs
2 Tbsp salt
4 cups water
3 egg whites
1 tsp Cholula hot sauce
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
½ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
½ tsp Dickie Bird garlic salt
1 tsp sugar
Vegetable oil for frying
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Directions
1. Combine salt and water in a large bowl. Brine chicken legs for 6 hours¹.
2. Remove chicken from brine and allow chicken to rest for 2 hours, uncovered, in refrigerator.
3. Jab meatiest portion of each leg to help cook thoroughly.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and 1 tsp hot sauce until peaks form.
5. In a shallow dish combine flour, cornmeal, seasonings and sugar.
6. Dip chicken legs in egg mixture, then drench in flour. Allow to sit at room temp while oil heats.
7. Heat oil for frying, about 325-350 degrees.
8. Warm oven.
9. Fry chicken golden in small batches. Drain on paper towels.
10. Place fried chicken on a foil lined baking sheet in warmed oven to keep crispy until all chicken in cooked.
11. Whisk together honey, hot sauce and butter in a small bowl. Drizzle over hot chicken just before serving.
¹Brine: It’s not your imagination. Your grandmother’s fried chicken was the best ever- likely because she brined it in saltwater before frying. Brining is an old-time country cook tradition that pulls salt through cell walls, trapping moisture inside the meat.
