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Honey Fried Chicken

Source of Recipe

From "The Cook's Illustrated Meat Book" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"The concept of drizzling fried chicken with honey was popularized in the 1930s, but over the years, the pairing has mostly vanished. And no wonder—the recipes we found turned out dry, chalky chicken whose crispy coating had been made soggy with a heavy honey glaze. We set out to bring this traditional favorite back to life. You will need at least a 6-quart Dutch oven for this recipe."

List of Ingredients

Brine:
â—¦ ½ cup salt
â—¦ ½ cup sugar
â—¦ 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed

Batter:
â—¦ 1 ½ cups cornstarch
â—¦ ¾ cup water
â—¦ 2 teaspoons pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ 3 quarts peanut or vegetable oil

Honey glaze:
â—¦ ¾ cup honey
â—¦ 2 tablespoons hot sauce


Recipe

For the brine: Dissolve ½ cup salt and sugar in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

For the batter: Whisk 1 cup cornstarch, water, pepper, and salt together in bowl until smooth. Refrigerate batter while chicken is brining.

Sift remaining ½ cup cornstarch into medium bowl. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Working with one piece at a time, coat chicken thoroughly with cornstarch, shaking to remove excess; transfer to platter.

Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Add oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about 2 inches deep and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Whisk batter to recombine. Transfer half of chicken to batter and turn to coat. Remove chicken from batter, allowing excess to drip back into bowl, and add chicken to hot oil. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 325 and 350 degrees. Fry chicken, stirring to prevent pieces from sticking together, until slightly golden and just beginning to crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. (Chicken will not be cooked through at this point.) Transfer parcooked chicken to platter. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining raw chicken and batter. Let each batch of chicken rest for 5 to 7 minutes.

Return oil to 350 degrees. Return first batch of chicken to oil and fry until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs and drumsticks register 175 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to prepared wire rack. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.

For the honey glaze: Combine honey and hot sauce in large bowl and microwave until hot, about 1 ½ minutes. Add chicken pieces one at a time to honey mixture and turn to coat; return to wire rack, skin side up, to drain. Serve.

Serves 4