| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Yield: | 8 pieces |
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup honey
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup Chicago-style giardiniera, drained well and chopped (reserve drained brine for chicken)
- 1/4 cup giardiniera brine reserved from Honey Giardiniera Butter
- 1/4 cup dill pickle brine from a jar of dill pickles
- 1 fryer chicken, cut into pieces (thighs, breasts, legs and wings)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Canola oil, for frying
Instructions
- For the honey giardiniera butter: Add the butter, honey and salt to taste to a bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in the giardiniera until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- For the chicken: Add the chicken thighs, reserved giardiniera brine and pickle brine to a plastic zip-top bag and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to fry the chicken, fill a Dutch oven halfway full with oil and heat to 350°F.
- Set up a dredging station: Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl and in a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, cornstarch, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne until well combined. Use your tongs to drizzle some of the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture.
- Remove 1 or 2 pieces of the chicken from the brine at a time and submerge in the buttermilk. Add 1 piece of the buttermilk-soaked chicken at a time into the flour mixture and turn to completely coat the chicken. Transfer to a plate and repeat until all the remaining chicken is well coated.
- Add the chicken to the hot oil in batches, 2 or 3 pieces at a time, and cook until brown and crispy, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to a wire rack on a baking sheet to drain. Serve immediately with the giardiniera butter or let cool and store on a wire-rack on a sheet pan, lightly covered, in the fridge overnight. Serve at the picnic at room temp. Served with softened honey giardiniera butter.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 935 |
| Total Fat | 67 g |
| Saturated Fat | 27 g |
| Carbohydrates | 47 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 15 g |
| Protein | 35 g |
| Cholesterol | 198 mg |
| Sodium | 759 mg |
Reviews
This the best fried chicken recipe I have tried. The brine gives the chciken great flavor and so juicy. If you make the recipe you definitely need to make the honey giardiniera butter it just takes the chicken to the next level!! Great Recipe Thanks Jeff!!
It came out just as expected. I did find though by the 3-4th batch the color was changing as the oil got hotter. Overall followed this to the letter and it came out beautifully! Thank u
Never deep fried chicken before. Choose this as saw it on show and looked so good. Have the big C and need to gain weight so the more fat the better. Just did legs and thighs (more fat) Burned my 1st 2 pieces but got the hang of it and the rest sooooooo yummy.
This was very good
I have been on a life long quest to find the perfect fried chicken recipe and THIS IS IT!! It was the best fried chicken I’ve ever tasted, not just made, and I’ve made so many recipes that claim to be the ‘best fried chicken ever’. This chicken brine & breading recipe is perfection. Thank you for finally helping me to find my go-to fried chicken recipe. It will be with me as a classic go-to for the rest of my life and I cannot wait to make it for my next backyard party. Amazing.
Jeff the fried chicken is so good THANK YOU
OMGoodness!! The chicken turned out excellent! The brine put it over the top! It was very moist and juicy. The honey butter was excellent, as well! My boyfriend was beyond impressed!
This is the best fried chicken I’ve ever made and probably ever had!! This is notable for me because I have never written a review for anything before.
I will make this as often as possible
I will make this as often as possible
Best fried chicken ever . The pickle brine puts it over the top . I did finish in oven 20mins to reach 165 , 12 mins fry time . So juicy and crunchy yay!!!
I was inspired by the show. Brined my chicken overnight. I was afraid my husband wouldn’t like it because he doesn’t like dill pickles but he enjoyed the chicken! I will make this again! Thanks Jeff Mauro!!