Spicy Buttermilk and Beer Fried Chicken

Hi. My name is Sloane, and I’ve never made fried chicken before. I always told myself I can’t fry food. That way I’m not at home frying everything we eat. It keeps me balanced. At Huck’s request, I attempted making Fried Chicken. I enjoy good spicy fried chicken, but it can be hit or miss. There’s nothing worse than ordering mediocre fried food. If you’re like me, you feel compelled to eat everything because you’re paying for it, but you’re not enjoying it. Remember, bad food makes me sad!

While in New Orleans, we ate lunch at Popeye’s. They have good fried chicken for a fast food restaurant, but I always wish their spicy chicken was spicier. I decided to make my own, spicier, version. And of course, I had to make it with beer.

I’m not going to lie, frying a bunch of chicken was scary. In my head, I pictured everything going wrong. We had lids, baking soda, and the fire extinguisher on stand by just in case something happened.

In the end, the frying experience wasn’t bad! I didn’t catch the house on fire, no dogs or people were burned by hot oil {we actually barricaded the kitchen so the dogs stayed safe}, there was minimal oil splatter to clean up, and we had incredible spicy fried chicken! Win Win Win!

Don’t worry though. This isn’t going to become Life, Fried Food, and Beer. As uneventful as the ordeal was, it’s still a lot more work. Just like fried foods itself, it’s great for every now and then, but not something I want to make on a regular bases.

As a Southerner, I know any good fried chicken recipe starts with soaking the chicken in buttermilk. I combined buttermilk, beer, and LOTS of spices together, and marinated the chicken for almost 24 hours. I used Abita Spring IPA in my marinated. I wanted a full flavor beer to infuse as much flavor as possible into the chicken, and Abita was everywhere in NOLA.

I combined flour and more spices to coat the chicken before frying. There definitely wasn’t a lack of flavor in this recipe. The meat was so incredibly tender and moist from the buttermilk/beer mixture.

I had to make a phone call to find out the perfect frying temperature, though. A question I knew my grandparents could answer better than Google.

They recommended using a cask iron skillet, and I’m sure they wanted to disown me when I told them I didn’t have one. Actually, I do have one, it’s just not seasoned and takes up to much room in our little kitchen.

I used a regular skillet with a high rim, and filed it a little less than half way up the sides with oil. It’s also important not to crowd the pan when cooking the chicken. I did 2 batches, and placed the finished chicken in a 200 degree, preheated, oven to stay warm.

So, the lesson today, fried chicken isn’t that scary, making it at home is healthier than eating out,  {less sodium I’m sure} and as long as you’re careful, you’re not going to burn the house down.

If you’re not a fan of spicy food, you can reduce or omit the spices all together. I still recommend Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion powder though. It would be too bland without it.

[gmc_recipe 11109]