Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Not particularly healthy but, once again, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. I measured the oil before I fried the chicken and I measured it again afterwards and - for 2 Lbs of chicken - there was only a difference of 1/4 a cup of oil, a copious amount of which was absorbed by the paper towels with which I had lined a baking tray for that very purpose. So, not healthy but not quite as bad as you think. Have these with a green salad rather than the coke, biscuits, coleslaw or potato salad that they scream out for and you will be just fine.
Most fried chicken recipes recommend an overnight soak in buttermilk and the use of a whole chicken cut in pieces. I have found that I don't particularly like the texture of buttermilk brined chicken and that using a whole chicken is a pain in the neck because all the chicken parts need to cook for different lengths of time and, no matter what you do, the breast pieces will be overcooked. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are perfect because you could aim a bazooka at them and cremate them to cinders and they would still be juicy.
Last words of advice: take your time and don't crowd the pan when cooking these babies or the chicken will not be crispy, use a pan with high sides rather than a skillet to avoid splatter, and DO NOT make this recipe on a day when you have just cleaned your kitchen. Delicious results notwithstanding, try as you might, you are going to make a bit of a mess.
8 boneless chicken thighs (should be about 2 lbs)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsps dried sage
2 tsps salt
2 tsps old Bay (optional)
1 Tbsp paprika
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 eggs
2 Tbsps brine from your pickle jar
2 tsps hot sauce such as Frank's
Lemon wedges
Get your stations set up so that you prep the chicken. You can use bowls for this but I use plastic bags for the flour and cornstarch as I feel this minimizes a bit of the mess. Put the cornstarch, 1/2 each of the sage, Old Bay and salt in one plastic bag; shake to combine. Put the flour, all of the paprika and the rest of the salt in another bag; shake to combine as well. Whisk the eggs, hot sauce and pickle juice together in a bowl.
Set a large stock pot on the stove, add the oil and heat over low heat while you prep your first round of chicken. I tend to work 2 or 3 at a time, depending on the size of the thighs and of your pan.
Add all of the chicken to the bag with the cornstarch mixture. Shake to ensure that the pieces each have a light coating of the spiced cornstarch on all sides.
Then, working in batches as mentioned above, coat a couple of pieces of chicken really well in the egg mixture and put them in the bag with the flour. Shake well, make sure the bag is well secured or you will soon be surrounded by a cloud of eggy flour..., and make sure that the chicken pieces each have a nice coating of the flour mixture adhering to all sides. If you like a SUPER crunchy crust, feel free to double dip your chicken - cornstarch once, then egg, flour, egg, flour.
By this time, the oil should be bubbling away. Raise the heat to medium and add the chicken pieces. Cook for 12 minutes, turning every 3 minutes or so to optimize color and crunch.
While the first batch of chicken is cooking, get the next round ready - egg and flour a couple more pieces - and line a baking tray well with paper towels.
As the chicken pieces cook, place them on the paper towel lined baking tray to get rid of any excess oil. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked through.
Serve with lemon wedges on the side for light spritzing purposes. Oh, did I mention? Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.
