Hot chicken had a recent renaissance in foodie circles, coinciding with a definite Southern culture in general renaissance. I promise I'm not just trend-surfing. People like spicy. People love fried chicken. This dish had always been there for both camps, especially those in proximity to central Tennessee and greater Appalachia.
I prefer using a wet brine in this case, where usually you'll find a dry brine in a lot of modern recipes. This method kills two birds with one stone (ORIGINAL JOKE) by using some of the brine liquid as your dredge. The magic of brines occurs by the transfer of high salinity environments to low salinity, kind of like the transfer of heat in thermodynamics. Congrats, you just passed a year 2 physics exam.
I am also a large proponent of cutting up an entire chicken and serving this to your friends and family. Bone-in fried chicken will always be superior to boneless; that is objective fact. De-bone the chicken breast if you must, but please don't mess with the wings or leg quarters. Shopping List:
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Hardware:
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Prep (for the brine):
Mix the lemon juice with coconut milk, pickle brine, and 2 Tbsp of cayenne pepper, as well as a hefty pinch of salt. Give this a stir - with any luck your coconut milk will start to look foamy.
Take your cleaned, butchered chicken parts and let them soak in the brine for at least 3 hours - I prefer 6-8 or overnight, but don't skimp on this step. The brining process takes time to transfer all that salty solution into the unsalted flesh of the meat for maximum juiciness.
Prep (for frying):
About 30-40 minutes before you want to start frying the chicken, remove the chicken from the brine, but reserve the brine liquid. You'll want about 2/3 to a full cup of this liquid to mix with the egg for your dredge. Ensure that the egg is very well beaten, and mix it with your reserved milk-brine mixture in a large bowl. Re-introduce the chicken to the egg-milk bowl and let the wet dredge coat the chicken.
Sift your flour with salt and black pepper to taste in a separate bowl.
Working one piece at a time, toss the chicken in flour until no more wet spots appear. You'll want to be extra thorough in this step, which why I had you beat the egg very well, so no streaky bits occur in your dredging process. You can be relatively forceful with this, as all the extra little nuggets of flour will crisp up super well. Nubbins, even, perhaps. Shake off excess flour and set on the the wire rack above a baking tray. Let this rest for 30 minutes at room temperature to allow the flour dredge time to stick to the chicken.
While the chicken is resting post-dredge, combine the spices (cayenne, chili flakes, paprika) with the brown sugar and melted lard. Stir this together and set aside.
Preheat your oil, carefully, to 375 deg F (use your thermometer). This is a little hotter than usual, but your oil temperature WILL drop when you add cold chicken (especially with bones), and this helps you, the user and fry-king/queen, adjust the temperature dynamically.
Preheat your oven to 200 deg F. Prepare your second wire rack and baking with some paper towels underneath. We ARE making fried chicken (that is subsequently going to get drenched in oil).
The Business:
Test the temperature of the oil. Using a chopstick can help, and if you see bubbles vigorously form around the wood, you should be good to go. I say that, but you should use the breast tenderloin as a tester - this also doubles as a kitchen snack for your trouble. After 5 minutes in the oil, the tender should be well done - but not too deep in brown. If it looks very crispy, consider dropping the temperature of your oil a bit, as the other pieces will be in for much longer and thus, will get much darker.
Carefully lay each piece of chicken into your hot oil. There's still a lot of moisture in the chicken as it rapidly escapes the dredge, so watch for bubbles of oil. That being said, we're frying, y'all. Like a good steak, you shouldn't have to fiddle with it too much. Just watch the crust to turn a deep golden brown.
Depending on how big your breast and leg quarters are, there will be variable cooking times, and you will likely need to flip the chicken once. Generally 20 minutes for the leg quarters, 15 for the breasts, and 10-12 for the wings at 325-350 deg F oil will do the trick. Generally speaking, oil is an excellent conductor of heat and cooks foods evenly if you have good coverage of oil along the entire surface area of the chicken. Barring that vague advice, use a meat thermometer inserted to the thickest part of your chicken as a backup. As each piece finishes, transfer the chicken to your second wire rack lined with paper towels underneath and place in the oven to keep warm. Nobody likes cold fried chicken, c'mon.
When you're ready to serve, liberally coat your chicken in your spice sauce (the lard and cayenne mixture you set aside). It will soak into the fried batter, and this is exactly what you want. Apply a second layer if you're feeling brave. I did it, and was totally worth it. Go for three, even.
Serve with accoutrement and enjoy!
Mix the lemon juice with coconut milk, pickle brine, and 2 Tbsp of cayenne pepper, as well as a hefty pinch of salt. Give this a stir - with any luck your coconut milk will start to look foamy.
Take your cleaned, butchered chicken parts and let them soak in the brine for at least 3 hours - I prefer 6-8 or overnight, but don't skimp on this step. The brining process takes time to transfer all that salty solution into the unsalted flesh of the meat for maximum juiciness.
Prep (for frying):
About 30-40 minutes before you want to start frying the chicken, remove the chicken from the brine, but reserve the brine liquid. You'll want about 2/3 to a full cup of this liquid to mix with the egg for your dredge. Ensure that the egg is very well beaten, and mix it with your reserved milk-brine mixture in a large bowl. Re-introduce the chicken to the egg-milk bowl and let the wet dredge coat the chicken.
Sift your flour with salt and black pepper to taste in a separate bowl.
Working one piece at a time, toss the chicken in flour until no more wet spots appear. You'll want to be extra thorough in this step, which why I had you beat the egg very well, so no streaky bits occur in your dredging process. You can be relatively forceful with this, as all the extra little nuggets of flour will crisp up super well. Nubbins, even, perhaps. Shake off excess flour and set on the the wire rack above a baking tray. Let this rest for 30 minutes at room temperature to allow the flour dredge time to stick to the chicken.
While the chicken is resting post-dredge, combine the spices (cayenne, chili flakes, paprika) with the brown sugar and melted lard. Stir this together and set aside.
Preheat your oil, carefully, to 375 deg F (use your thermometer). This is a little hotter than usual, but your oil temperature WILL drop when you add cold chicken (especially with bones), and this helps you, the user and fry-king/queen, adjust the temperature dynamically.
Preheat your oven to 200 deg F. Prepare your second wire rack and baking with some paper towels underneath. We ARE making fried chicken (that is subsequently going to get drenched in oil).
The Business:
Test the temperature of the oil. Using a chopstick can help, and if you see bubbles vigorously form around the wood, you should be good to go. I say that, but you should use the breast tenderloin as a tester - this also doubles as a kitchen snack for your trouble. After 5 minutes in the oil, the tender should be well done - but not too deep in brown. If it looks very crispy, consider dropping the temperature of your oil a bit, as the other pieces will be in for much longer and thus, will get much darker.
Carefully lay each piece of chicken into your hot oil. There's still a lot of moisture in the chicken as it rapidly escapes the dredge, so watch for bubbles of oil. That being said, we're frying, y'all. Like a good steak, you shouldn't have to fiddle with it too much. Just watch the crust to turn a deep golden brown.
Depending on how big your breast and leg quarters are, there will be variable cooking times, and you will likely need to flip the chicken once. Generally 20 minutes for the leg quarters, 15 for the breasts, and 10-12 for the wings at 325-350 deg F oil will do the trick. Generally speaking, oil is an excellent conductor of heat and cooks foods evenly if you have good coverage of oil along the entire surface area of the chicken. Barring that vague advice, use a meat thermometer inserted to the thickest part of your chicken as a backup. As each piece finishes, transfer the chicken to your second wire rack lined with paper towels underneath and place in the oven to keep warm. Nobody likes cold fried chicken, c'mon.
When you're ready to serve, liberally coat your chicken in your spice sauce (the lard and cayenne mixture you set aside). It will soak into the fried batter, and this is exactly what you want. Apply a second layer if you're feeling brave. I did it, and was totally worth it. Go for three, even.
Serve with accoutrement and enjoy!