Texas Style Hot Chicken
Servings: 4
Ingredients
for the marinade
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 3 1/2 pounds chicken, mix of bone-in thighs and legs
- canola oil, for frying
- for the breading
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- large brown bag, think grocery store bag
for the Chili Paste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoon frying oil
- 3 tablespoons chili water, for recipe see below
for the Chili Water
- 2 dried peppers, I prefer ancho and chipotle
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
Instructions
- In a long deep dish or resealable bag add the buttermilk, coriander, garlic, salt, thyme and cayenne. Mix well. Add the chicken into the marinade and marinate for 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
- 1 hour before frying, remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry.
- 20 minutes before frying, add the flour, cayenne and salt to a large brown bag. Place the chicken into the bag and shake well to coat.
- Remove the chicken from the bag and lay on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pour the oil into a large cast iron skillet. Use enough oil to submerge the chicken pieces halfway. Heat the oil to 350-400 degrees.
- In two batches, fry the chicken—for a total of 16 to 18 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165°, turning and rotating chicken every 4 minutes.
- Remove the chicken to a clean cooling rack.
- Brush the desired amount of chili paste to each side of the chicken and then lightly sprinkle with salt. Serve warm with a pickle.
Chili Water
- Pour the boiling water over the peppers and let hydrate for 20 minutes. Remove from the water.
- Remove any stems and seeds from the peppers.
- Strain the water into a blender and add the peppers. Puree and strain the pureed peppers from the water.
