2boneless skinless chicken breastscut in half horizontally, pounded out to fit your size buns
2tspkosher salt
1tspeach garlic powderonion powder, and smoked paprika
½tspeach black pepper and cayenne pepper
1cupButtermilk to cover chicken
Pickles
1cupwhite vinegar
½cupwater
2Tbspsugar
1Tbspkosher salt
2clovesgarlicsliced
1thai chilior a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2tspblack peppercorns
a few sprigs of fresh dill
2large kirby cucumberssliced
Jalapeño Mayo
1jalapeñoroughly chopped
1egg
2Tbspwhite vinegar
1tspfish sauce
1tspkosher salt
1cupvegetable oil
Chicken Dredge
½cupall purpose flour
½cupcornstarch
1tspkosher salt
1tspeach garlic powderonion powder and smoked paprika
¼tspeach black pepper and cayenne
To Serve
Vegetable oil for frying
Desired bunsrecipe for mine is linked at the bottom!
Butter
Instructions
Begin by marinating the chicken. Mix chicken, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, and buttermilk in a bowl. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
While chicken marinates, make pickles. In a small sauce pot heat vinegar, water, sugar, salt, garlic, thai chili, and peppercorns until simmering and dissolved. Add cucumbers and dill to a jar or similar container, and pour hot brine over. Let pickle at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Next make the mayo. Blend jalapeño, egg, vinegar, fish sauce, and salt until smooth. Slowly stream in the oil while blending, until a thick emulsified mayo is created. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Prepare the dredge by whisking all the ingredients together in a shallow bowl.
When ready to assemble sandwiches, heat oil in a large heavy duty pot or pan with high sides. You want to fill your pan with about 2 inches of oil (make sure to use a pan where there is still a lot of room left after adding the oil so that it doesn’t overflow while frying!)
Once your oil is hot, around 325ªF-350ºF, remove your chicken from the buttermilk and into the dredge. Coat the chicken very well in the dredge mixture. You really want to pack it on there!
Carefully transfer the chicken to the hot oil and fry for about 7-8 minutes until golden and crispy. Transfer to a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towel. Immediately season chicken on both sides with a sprinkle of kosher salt. You will probably need to fry in batches.
Once chicken is fried, toast your buns in butter.
Assemble the sandwiches as desired with the chicken, pickles and mayo. Enjoy!
Notes
*You can marinate the chicken, pickle the cucumbers, and make the mayo all a day ahead!