Recipe of the Week: Fried Chicken w/ Spicy Honey Glaze
The Saturday before Mother’s Day, my parents came to town. We were joined by my brother, and sister and brother-in-law, and we went to a local farmer’s market to enjoy a lot of the good food and interesting crafts there. One of the booths, which came highly recommended by a friend, was a place that sold waffles on a stick with different toppings.
I chose the GOAT, which was a waffle on a stick topped with whipped goat cheese, crushed pistachios, and spicy honey that contrasted perfectly with the sweetness of the whipped goat cheese. It was simply amazing.
Fast forward to Thursday night, and I was cooking some fried chicken at home when I remembered I had just bought a bunch of honey at the store (always keep honey around, folks… especially if you get colds and sinus infections often). So, I got out some Louisiana hot sauce, salt, and garlic powder and mixed it together. When the chicken was out of the oil, I took a basting brush and just slathered the chicken on all sides and let it sit. Once it cooled, I drizzled the remaining glaze over the chicken and served as is. I am thinking of toying with a glaze that uses minced garlic instead of powder and reduced a bit, but that is an experiment for another day.
Below is the very basic recipe for chicken, which was breaded and cooked much like how Raisin’ Canes cooks theirs, and the recipe for the glaze.
Fried Chicken w/ Spicy Honey Glaze
Six chicken breasts, halved
Six chicken drumsticks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. white pepper
2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. parsley
For the glaze
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tbps. Louisiana hot sauce
Pinch of salt
Pinch of garlic powder
Pour oil in cast iron dutch oven, and heat the oil to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the dry ingredients for the breading, then place the chicken one piece at a time, rolling until fully covered.
When the oil is to temperature, add the chicken one piece at a time, cooking 3-4 pieces per batch. Watch your frying thermometer, as the chicken will reduce the oil’s temperature pretty significantly. Ride the knobs as needed to maintain 350 degree oil.
Using a probe thermometer to check, cook the chicken until crispy on the outside and until it hits about 160 degrees internally (chicken has to cook until 165 degrees, but the carryover cooking will take it to 165 as it rests).
As you pull it out, place it on a rack to dry.
While the chicken dries off, mix the glaze ingredients.
While the chicken is on the rack, use a basting brush to glaze the chicken with the sauce. Make more sauce if needed to get the whole batch done.
As you serve, drizzle the remaining sauce on the chicken after it hits the plate.
Have a great weekend, folks. Also, if you have a local farmer’s market, go check it out. You’ll find some pretty amazing stuff.