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Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

The best fried chicken I’ve ever had was in a trailer park in Compton, a particularly rough part of South Central Los Angeles (you can read that story here). Since then I’ve had a mild obsession with perfecting the at-home fried chicken recipe. It’s an easy recipe to obsess over, its meant to be an at-home recipe. It’s origins are in home kitchens in the South, kitchens that don’t have fancy equipment or any need for expensive ingredients. It’s a recipe that often turns out better in a home kitchen than in a commercial one. Fried chicken is meant to be shared, made in larger batches, and eaten with both hands. I’ve learned a few things along the path of my obsession that help get that perfect bite that turns Fried Chicken into Crack Chicken:

1. Brine. Always, always brine. A mixture of beer and buttermilk gives you an incredibly juicy chicken that has no trouble standing up to the heat of a deep frier.

2. Sweet and heat. A little brown sugar and chili powder will give you a nice full, rounded flavor to your breading that can’t be matched. Don’t be afraid of the sugar, it’s a secret ingredient for many, many chefs and home cooks.

3. Wire rack. Skip the paper towel covered plate, it’ll make the bottom part of your chicken soggy. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and the entire thing will stay crispy.

4. Skip the spendy oil. Because of the low smoke point of olive oil, it’s the last thing you want to use. Use canola oil or peanut oil for best result. Some home cooks (particularly the Southern Grandma types) like to use a mixture of Crisco and peanut oil.

5. Use your oven too. It’ll take a while to cook 3 pounds of chicken, make sure that the first batch is as warm as the last by sticking it on a wire rack over a baking sheet and placing that in the oven while you finish up. It will also help keep the crispy coating from turning soggy.

6. Let it sit for a few minutes. Allowing the chicken to rest between the buttermilk/flour step and the deep frier will help your chicken cook more evenly and help the breading to stick to the chicken.

 

My last advice is to pair it with a highly carbonated, moderately hopped pale ale. But that’s your call. Have a great fried chicken tip? Please add it in the comments section!

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

 

 

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs chicken pieces thighs, legs, wings
  • 2 tbs kosher salt
  • 1 sweet white onion sliced
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 1 tbs sriracha
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • canola or peanut oil for frying

For the Glaze:

  • ¼ cup honey
  • 3 tbs sriracha

Instructions
 

  • Arrange the chicken in an even layer in a large baking pan.
  • Sprinkle evenly with kosher salt, top with sliced onions.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, beer and sriracha, pour evenly over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
  • In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
  • One at a time remove the chicken pieces, dredge in the flour mixture then gently re-dip in the buttermilk/beer marinade and recoat with the flour mixture (double coating of the flour mixture will give you a crispier chicken), set on a wire rack that has been set over a baking sheet.
  • Allow the coated chicken to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 250.
  • Add the oil to a large pot until about 6 inches deep, heat to 350 degrees using a cooking thermometer clipped to the pan, adjust heat to maintain that temperature.
  • Working in batches fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through (between 4 and 12 minutes each, depending on how thick the chicken and if the piece has a bone in it, use a meat thermometer to check for doneness).
  • Once each piece is done, return to the wire rack and place baking sheet in the oven while the remainder of the chicken is cooking.
  • Whisk together the honey and sriracha, drizzle over the chicken just prior to serving (alternately, it can be used as a dipping sauce).

 

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

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Comments


Brenda October 20, 2014 um 2:11 pm

If you just can’t deep fry, is it worth trying to enjoy an oven baked or electric fry pan fried variation?
Really dying to try home made fried chicken again some day 🙂

Reply

Jackie October 20, 2014 um 4:38 pm

Give it a try! It’s not as scary as it seems. Use a large pot to reduce the splatters and make sure you have a deep fry thermometer. If you really can’t do it, I know a lot of people who pan fry chicken with a few inches of oil in a skillet.

Reply

Carrie@Bakeaholic Mama October 20, 2014 um 5:35 pm

This looks so good Jackie! Fried chicken is something I have been trying to perfect for years!

Reply

Jess October 20, 2014 um 6:13 pm

My boyfriend would go NUTS over this. I’m going to have to surprise him with it I think!

Reply

Thalia @ butter and brioche October 21, 2014 um 2:25 am

Hands down the best fried chicken I have seen.. you can definitely consider I will be recreating the recipe as I am badly craving some to devour right now!

Reply

Susan October 21, 2014 um 8:47 am

This recipe sounds absolutely scrumptious. And that’s from one who is not really a fan of fried chicken. Just had some commercial stuff this weekend that I think was cooked scorching oil. If I make this I would bake it instead of deep frying. Part of that is a caloric issue, and part is that despite all the years I’ve been cooking I’ve never deep-fried anything, and am not comfortable starting now. I was a little put off by the brining tip until I read that your brine is buttermilk and beer. I tend to think of brine as salty, and a salt brine makes the meat way too salty for my tastes. I agree that this recipe would go great with a pale ale (my favorite beers are pale ales).

Reply

Mirta October 22, 2014 um 4:48 pm

I love fried chicken, I will try to do in my kitchen

Reply

Julie Long November 28, 2014 um 1:31 am

Now this is so good.
Thanks

Reply

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