My original plan for last nights dinner was to make sweet and sour chicken, but apparently there is a limit on how much rice a person can eat! I decided to try and make fried chicken on a whim since we had defrosted some chicken thighs. I must admit I didn’t have high expectations but I found this recipe that had excellent reviews and I had everything we needed other than some buttermilk. I was amazed, the fried chicken turned out restaurant quality and I wish I could have had seconds, thirds, basically eaten it all night. All the ingredients are affordable and easy to find, we used boneless, skinless, chicken thighs but you can use any kind of chicken, just be aware that the cooking times will probably change! We had our fried chicken alongside fries, baked beans, and coleslaw, but serve it with any of your bbq favorites! I’ll post the recipe that I ended up using but feel free to check the original recipe here, they shallow fried their chicken in case you don’t have a deep fat fryer, there are some great tips in the comments too!
Ingredients
- 5 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (change however you need, just remember to scale up or down, I think the marinate will coat 6 thighs)
- Marinade (change based on your spicy you like your chicken)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 2 cups buttermilk
- Breading (again, change based on how spicy you like your chicken)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- oil, for frying
Directions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl you can fit in your refrigerator.
- Place chicken inside marinade, making sure all pieces are completely covered and cover bowl
- Refrigerate for at least an hour (I only had an hour and it worked great)
- Pre-heat your deep fat fryer to 329 degrees Fahrenheit
- Combine all of the breading ingredients in a large bowl or plate with a rim, then roll the marinated chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off excess. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
- Place about 3 pieces of chicken in the deep far fryer and cook for approximately 6 minutes, check at the 5 minute mark, you should be able to tell when it’s done when the batter has become golden brown.
- Place the chicken on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet or some foil (If you don’t have a cooling rack just place the chicken on some kitchen roll).
- I used a thermometer to check that the chicken was cooked, so at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle.
- As always, enjoy! And let me know how it goes!
