| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 5 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 4 hr |
| Cook: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 quart buttermilk, plus 2 cups
- Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons chili de arbol powder, or 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 chickens (3 to 4 pounds each), cut up into 8 pieces each
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Peanut oil, for deep-frying
- Ancho honey, recipe follows
- 1 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
- Salt
Instructions
- Whisk together 1 quart of the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt, and the chili de arbol in a large bowl or large baking dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Place the remaining 2 cups of buttermilk in a bowl. Stir together the flour, garlic and onion powders, paprika and cayenne in a large bowl and divide among 2 shallow platters and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Drain the chicken in a colander and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces a few at a time in the flour mixture and pat off excess, then dip in the buttermilk and allow excess to drain off. Dredge in the second plate of flour and pat off the excess. Put the chicken pieces on a baking rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.
- Pour about 3 inches of oil into a deep cast iron skillet; the oil should not come more than halfway up the sides of the pot. Put the pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil to 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time and fry, turning the pieces occasionally, until evenly golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to drain; repeat to cook the remaining pieces. Serve hot, drizzled with the ancho honey.
- Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Season with salt, to taste.
Reviews
Excellent recipe. Love sweet and spicy together. One note though: It easily serves 8 versus the 4 servings listed unless you want a lot of leftovers
Can I make this ahead and reheat in oven next day? I want to use cut up chicken breasts “nuggets” for an appetizer but need to do it a day ahead. Suggestions????
Awesome recipe!! Very delicious with the sweet and spicey from the ancho honey and it goes great with the salty crunch of the fried chicken. It is heavenly. My family loves it!
This is the first time I have made fried chicken and it was full of flavor. I made it again and let the chicken stay over night and it was more flavorful. Also I cooked them in a deep fryer at 335 F. It only took 10 minutes. I served this with parmesan crusted asparagus and sugar baby carrots for the sides… It was incredible.
I’ve never been good at making fried chic., but I used this recipe and my chic. was great! This recipe rocks and I would highly recommend it. I soaked the chic. for 27 hours. It was so good, I’ll never use another recipe. Thanks Bobby for being a fantastic chief and sharing your magic with us. Lora Terrell
We were trying to find a good fried chicken recipe and saw this recipe and decided to try it since we saw him do it on tv. The chicken looked wonderful with its crispy crust but insteead it lacked flavor and we were disappointed with the ending results.
Loved this – let the chicken sit for 24 hours in the buttermilk – so juicy! Agree with others on temperature – I found 325 degrees was the best. Everyone raved about the honey on the chicken – don’t skip it!
Takes too long and its not good very bland with a funny taste!!
Bobby you had a throwdown with a man name Nick in NJ with the making of a Curba Sandwitch. I and a few of my girlfriends saw the show. OMG you have got to get a cooking show for Nick he would have rating in HIGH HIGH numbers.
Please really think about it.
He is a money maker. So sexy!!!
Thz a Fan
Please really think about it.
He is a money maker. So sexy!!!
Thz a Fan
I made this last night and it was AMAZING!!! It was super crispy and the honey ancho mixture had just the perfect amount of sweet and spicyness!! Bobby, you’re my hero!!! I hope with everything I’m learning from you that someday I’ll be ready for a THROWDOWN!!! :))