Buttermilk Hot Sauce Brined Chicken Recipes

GRILLED BUTTERMILK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the buttermilk, thyme, garlic and salt in a large bowl or shallow dish. Add chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally., Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Grill, covered, over medium heat until a thermometer reads 165°, 5-7 minutes per side.

BUTTERMILK-BRINED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• The day before you want to cook the chicken, remove the wingtips by cutting through the first wing joint with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Reserve for stock. Season chicken generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.
• Stir 2 tablespoons kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. (If the chicken won't fit in a gallon-size bag, double up 2 plastic produce bags to prevent leaks and tie the bag with twine.)
• Seal the bag, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. If you're so inclined, you can turn the bag periodically so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but that's not essential.
• Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. Heat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the center position.
• Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tightly tie together the legs with a piece of butcher's twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a shallow roasting pan.
• Slide the pan all the way to the back of the oven on the center rack. Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing toward the center of the oven. (The back corners tend to be the hottest spots in the oven, so this orientation protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done.) Pretty quickly you should hear the chicken sizzling.
• After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting for 10 minutes.
• Move the pan so the legs are facing the rear right corner of the oven. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh. If the skin is getting too brown before it is cooked through, use a foil tent. Remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

BUTTERMILK BRINED FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the brine: Combine all the ingredients for the brine except buttermilk in a small pot and heat over medium, dissolving all the salt and honey.
• Remove from heat and cool by adding ice cubes and stirring.
• In a large mixing bowl combine buttermilk and cooled seasoned water. Rinse chicken and pat dry.
• Divide all pieces of chicken between two large ziplock bags.
• Pour half of buttermilk brine in each, close, and place in the refrigerator over night, up to 12 hours.
• 1-2 hours before you are ready to fry: Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry.
• Let the chicken come to room temperature, half an hour to one and a half hours, on a parchment lined baking sheet covered with paper towels.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix all of the ingredients for the coating together in a large bowl, transferring half to a second bowl.
• Fill a third bowl with the 2 cups of buttermilk.
• The easiest way to coat the chicken is to have a line set up: uncoated chicken, flour coating, buttermilk, 2nd bowl of flour coating, wax paper lined baking sheet for the coated chicken.
• Pour the oil into your pot.
• It should come at least two inches and no more than 1/3 of the way up the side of the pot.
• Turn the heat to low, clipping a frying/candy thermometer to the side of your pot.
• Dredge each piece in the coating, dust off all excess, dip into the buttermilk, and then into the second bowl of coating, letting the 2nd coating be clumpier but still patting to get rid of excess that might fall off in the oil.
• Place coated chicken on the wax paper lined tray.
• Turn the oil up to high and let it come to about 350°F.
• Let the coated chicken sit so that the coating will thicken while the oil gets hot.
• When it reaches temperature, very carefully place 4 pieces of chicken at a time in the hot oil and fry, adjusting the temperature as needed to maintain a frying temperature between 310° -325°F.
• I try to keep it around 320°.
• You start the oil at 350° because when you add the chicken to the hot oil, the temperature will drop.
• Fry dark meat first, as it takes longer.
• Fry the chicken for about 13-20 minutes, moving the chicken gently (you don't want to knock the coating off!) after the first five to prevent sticking and burning on the bottom.
• Be careful to monitor your chicken, watching the oil temperature closely and not letting the chicken get too dark.
• Remove chicken from the oil with a spider or slotted metal spoon when it is golden brown (metal tongs will knock off your precious coating), and place it on a cooling rack over a paper towel lined baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with kosher salt.
• Check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer.
• Fully cooked chicken will read 160 degrees and can be served then if desired.
• If it is lower than that, it must be finished in the oven.
• Fry the second batch and then place it on the rack.
• Place the rack in the oven for ten minutes.
• Check the internal temperature to make sure the chicken is cooked through, let rest 10 minutes, and serve hot.
• If all the chicken is cooked through and you want to keep it hot, you can hold it in a 250 degree oven.

BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken pieces in a bowl and toss them with buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt and a healthy grind of black pepper. Cover and marinate for at least an hour and up to a day.
• Combine flour, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper in a large bowl or, ideally, a paper bag large enough to accommodate the flour and the pieces of chicken.
• Pour oil into a large, heavy-bottomed cast-iron skillet with high sides and a lid, to a depth of a few inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350 degrees.
• Set a rack on a baking sheet or tray. Place the chicken pieces in the paper bag filled with the flour mixture and shake well to coat, or toss them in the bowl with the flour mixture to achieve a similar result.
• Shake off excess flour and fry the pieces of chicken skin-side down, in batches so as not to crowd the pan, for about 5 to 15 minutes, covered by the lid. Remove the lid, turn over the chicken pieces, and cook for about 5 to 15 minutes more, uncovered, until they are cooked through and a deep golden brown. Color is as or more important than time: Watch your chicken and get it out when it's golden brown.
• Remove chicken to the rack to drain and rest, sprinkle with salt and serve warm or at room temperature.

PAULA DEAN'S SPICY BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl place the buttermilk, hot sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the seasoned salt and cut up chicken, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours Drain and discard buttermilk mixture.
• In shallow dish combine flour, garlic salt, red pepper, onion powder and remaining 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt. Dredge chicken in flour mixture and place on wire rack and let sit for 15 minutes.
• In a large (preferably) cast-iron skillet pour oil to a depth of 3 inches and heat to 350 degrees.
• Fry chicken pieces in batches, for 12 to 15 minutes per side or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees. Drain on a clean wire rack over paper towels.
• Enjoy!