Hot Honey Fried Chicken Strips Recipes

Steps:

• Place one sheet of plastic wrap on a clean cutting board (see Cook's Note). Put one chicken piece in the center of the plastic wrap and top with another sheet. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 even strips. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
• Pour 1 cup buttermilk over the chicken. Marinate at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes or overnight in the fridge if time allows.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Pour about 1 inch of oil into a deep, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 to 375 degrees F.
• Stir together the 1/4 cup honey in a small bowl with as much hot sauce as you like (I use 1 tablespoon, but I like it spicy.) Set aside until ready to serve.
• Stir together the flour, paprika, cayenne, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the garlic powder and onion powder if using.
• Stir the remaining 1/3 cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture until it has a chunky consistency.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture so that each piece is fully coated and place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Working in batches to avoid crowding the pot, add 3 to 4 pieces of the coated chicken and fry, undisturbed, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and fry until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the fried chicken strips to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, season with a pinch of salt and hold in the warm oven. Check the oil temperature and adjust the heat as needed to bring it back to 350 to 275 degrees F, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Serve the fried chicken strips immediately with the hot honey.

Steps:

• Prepare the biscuits: In a bowl, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add butter and use the fork to mash it into the flour until the mixture resembles large, lumpy crumbs. Stir in milk until a dough comes together.
• Flour your hands, then gently gather and knead the dough in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it springs back slightly to the touch. (If the dough is sticky, sprinkle additional flour as needed.) Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and rest dough in fridge for half hour.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough to 1 to 1 1/2 inch thickness. Use a floured knife or round cutter to cut 6 biscuits, about 3 1/2 inches wide. Reroll the scraps and cut again as needed.
• Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have puffed up and the tops are slightly golden. Let cool completely on a wired rack at room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container if not using until the next day.
• Prepare the chicken: Trim excess fat and any membranes from the meat, then lightly hammer the thickest parts of the thighs with a mallet or rolling pin. Season each side with salt.
• Mix flour, cayenne and salt in one wide bowl. Beat eggs in a second wide bowl, and place panko in a third. Dip each chicken thigh in flour, coating it all over and patting off the excess, then in egg, allowing extra egg to drip off, then in panko, making sure each thigh is entirely coated in bread crumbs, and using your hands to press loose crumbs into any places where they look scarce.
• In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, pour in oil to a 2-inch depth and heat to 350 degrees. Fry 2 thighs at a time, flipping them over every two minutes or so, until golden brown and crisp all over, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack set over a paper towel-lined sheet pan and season lightly with salt. Let cool entirely at room temperature, at least 1 hour. At this point, you can assemble the sandwiches or transfer the rack to the fridge and leave the chicken uncovered overnight.
• Assemble the sandwiches: When both the chicken and biscuits have cooled (or the next day), mix together soft butter, honey and hot sauce until smooth. Cut open cooled biscuits, smear each cut side with honey butter, and sandwich with a piece of chicken. If traveling, loosely wrap each sandwich in a piece of parchment paper and pack side by side in a hard container, in a single layer, so the sandwiches aren't crushed. Serve with additional hot sauce and pickles on the side.

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, vinegar, pickling spices, bay leaf, 1/4 cup salt and 2 cups cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring, until the salt and sugar dissolve. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice. Remove the brine from the heat and pour it over the ice to cool to room temperature. Add the chicken skin-side down, being sure to keep the chicken submerged. If the chicken is not completely covered in brine, add more cold water. Cover the pot and let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate up to overnight.
• When you're ready to fry the chicken, pour enough oil into a large Dutch oven to reach about a third of the way up the side and deep enough to submerge the chicken. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with wire racks.
• Remove the chicken from the brine and place in a large bowl with the buttermilk. Put the flour in a large paper bag. Season the flour with the dill, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and remaining tablespoon salt. A few pieces at a time, transfer the chicken to the bag with the flour and shake well to coat. Place the coated chicken on the wire rack-lined cookie sheet.
• Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown and the internal temperature measures 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to another wire rack-lined baking sheet and transfer to the oven while you cook the rest of the chicken. Let cool slightly before serving with the Hot Honey Sauce.
• Stir together the honey, butter, hot sauce, paprika and cayenne in a small saucepot over medium heat. Heat and stir until smooth and all ingredients are combined.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, and cayenne and mix until combined. In a another medium bowl, combine half of the spice mix with the flour, mixing until the spices are evenly distributed.
• Add the chicken to a large bowl and sprinkle with the remaining spice blend. Mix until all the chicken pieces are evenly coated.
• Pour the buttermilk over the chicken and stir until the residual spices from the chicken have blended in with the buttermilk to create a light orange color. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight.
• Heat the oil to about 325°F (160°C) in a large cast-iron skillet.
• Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip them back into the buttermilk mixture, then back into the flour. Make sure to shake off excess flour or it'll burn while frying.
• Fry 3-4 chicken pieces at a time, occasionally turning them over. Cook for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown, crispy, and the internal temperature reaches 165°F (75°C). Rest the cooked chicken pieces on a wire rack to let excess oil drain off.
• Drizzle the chicken with honey, then serve.
• Enjoy!