Spicy Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken
Making fried chicken at home is a lot of work; and this recipe is no exception. But once you try this chicken, it’ll be worth all the effort and you’ll have one full happy belly. This chicken is marinated in buttermilk and spicy pickle brine. Both the marinade ingredients act as a tenderizer, as well as giving the chicken the tang that it needs and deserves. It’s then dredged in seasoned flour, more buttermilk, and back into the flour.
Equipment
- thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 cup spicy pickle brine
- 3 cups buttermilk divided
- 1 whole frying chicken cut into 8 pieces
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix together the pickle brine and 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk.
- Place the chicken in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Pour in the pickle brine/buttermilk. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours; preferably overnight.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and seasonings.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour, the remaining buttermilk, and then back into the flour. Shake off the excess flour.
- Fill up a large pot with 3” of vegetable oil. Heat until the temperature reaches 350°. Fry the chicken in batches.
- Wings will take 10 minutes to fry. Drumsticks and thighs 12 minutes. Breasts will take 5 minutes. The internal temperature needs to read 165° for white meat and 180° for dark meat.
- Drain the grease on a wire rack.
