Sometimes, just sometimes, the diet has to be thrown out the window and these fried chicken sliders are the perfect way to say 'F you diet, something better has cropped up...!
Crispy bites of chicken, a spicy sauce and simple sweetened (from the pineapple) slaw makes these nuggets something you are gonna wanna serve to friends, family and heck anyone you know 😉
sponsored by Zontes Footstep, Mclaren Flat
Deep Fried Mars Bar - is that a thing?
I was never really into fried chicken until I moved to NYC. I guess the only deep fried thing we ate growing up in Ireland was potato! While living in America I came to experience the obsession with fried chicken. Hell, they give the Scots with their deep-fried mars bar (which, by the way, is oddly nice.... although I did eat it after a rake of pints, so who actually knows) a run for their money. Menus in the US are all about fried chicken. From chicken & waffles, chicken & honey, chicken sandwiches to just a good ol' hunk of deep-fried chicken with gravy and mash, they really know how to do it.
If you didn't guess by now I am ever so slightly partial to a bit of fried chicken myself. Well, as much as my waistline will allow. For me, the key is the bath beforehand. No, not the one I take when I am trying to escape the wife and kid with a 6 pack of beer (classy I know). I'm talking about the one we give to those beautiful thighs we can't wait to wrap our hands around 😉
How To Make Fried Chicken
It's actually surprisingly simple - but I guess everything is when you know-how! Whether it's fried chicken sliders or a larger piece of fried chicken start with the same process
- Soak in a buttermilk mixture. This helps to tenderize the chicken. For me 1 hour is minimum with up to 24 hours. Anything more and the texture of the chicken starts to change. Add spices, herbs or even pickle juice to your mix to impart a little extra flavour.
- Then it's all about the dunk! Get the chicken into some seasoned flour
- And into the frier @170c for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown
- Once cooked, hit them with a pinch of salt and let them rest for a moment on a wire rack so you don't burn your mouth!
And that's about the extent of it! The buttermilk aside from tenderizing the chicken acts as a binder for the flour to coat. If you want to go super crispy chicken then you can double dip buttermilk/flour 😉
NYC & my fried chicken obsession
When I worked in PUBLIC restaurant in NYC they were experimenting with opening up an upmarket burger joint. Let me tell you, boy did they succeed with their offerings. I had read that fried chicken is all about the buttermilk brine. Truthfully I had never really tried or paid much attention to it until I was "forced" to eat chef's fried chicken sandwich as we rolled it out on our cocktail bar menu for guest feedback.
OMG, after a long day on my feet in the restaurant, there was no better end to the day than ordering 2 fried chicken sandwiches at midnight and washing them down with a few beers. Needless to say, my belt buckle made a new friend with the next hole on the belt!! So having eaten a little too much fried chicken in NYC. Having watched our chefs prepare it all the time. And OBVIOUSLY having watched 1 too many episodes of Triple D (diner's, drive-ins & dives), I embarked on a fried chicken dish of my own.
Oh, you may be wondering why fried chicken sliders and not a big assed sandwich? Well, one word - patience! I generally have a lot of it but sometimes when I get close to the finish line I just want to eat it there and then! Cutting the thighs smaller and serving them as fried chicken sliders means a faster cooking time. Not to mention I munch down more than 1 and not feel totally stuffed and fatty. Check out my aioli recipe here too for the perfect sauce (just add a little sriracha to spice it up!)
What Wine I'm Drinking With Fried Chicken Sliders
For those of you wondering why not a beer, well I'm just not a huge and to be honest I much prefer a cold glass of wine I can sip on, enjoy and watch it change/develop in taste over a little time. That being said there are days when you want something super thirst-quenching and delicious at the same time.
For me, that's rose wine. Luckily, living in QLD the weather (generally) is good all the time so opening a rose in winter here is like having one in summer back home!
The Zontes Footstep Scarlet Ladybird is one my wife and I have been enjoying lately and it went down PERFECTLY with my fried chicken sliders! It's a fresh, medium-bodied number that has tons of juicy berry notes on the nose and delightful strawberry & cream notes on the palate. There is a natural sweetness in the wine which I like with the spice from the sriracha. Honestly, we have gone through a few of these this summer!
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Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!!!
Ingredients
- 3 boneless chicken thighs
- 200 ml buttermilk
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 cup flour
- 6 slider buns
- canola oil
Slaw
- 1 carrot
- 1 handful coriander
- 1 spring onion
- 60 g pineapple
- 1 cup red cabbage
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Sauce
- 1-2 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 6 tbsp aioli/mayo
Essential Tools
- Chef Knives
- Chopping board
- measuring/weighing utensils
- mixing bowl x 4
- large saucepan/high sided frying pan
- wire rack
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut the chicken thighs in half
- Mix buttermilk, sriracha & garlic powder together and place chicken in marinade for 1 hour – 24 hours
- Once marinated, dip the chicken in flour and cover all over
- Deep fry in canola oil @ 170c for 4-5 minutes or until golden *see tips*
Slaw
- Slice all vegetables and pineapple into thin matchstick sized pieces and toss together *see tips*
- Before serving toss in lime juice & rice vinegar
Sauce
- Mix all ingredients together and store in the fridge until ready to use
Notes
Tips/Tricks
- the buttermilk helps to tenderize the chicken so my advice is to do this part in the morning and have delicious tender chicken for dinner in minutes!
- you can make the slaw ingredients in advance, just don’t toss it together with the pineapple or lime/vinegar until serving so they stay fresh and crisp
- when cooking the fried chicken, don’t crowd the pan as the temperature will drop too much and your batter won’t get crisp enough. I usually do 3 pieces at a time and leave the 3 cooked to rest on a wire rack before serving
• You can keep the thighs whole and serve it as a fried chicken sandwich too
Ok. So you have me laughing at sneaking away to the bath with a six pack. Although, I am partial to the shower beer. It is a thing, you know! Anyways, I grew up with my dad’s southern fried chicken and I have yet to find one that is even close. He used the buttermilk brine, though, so this may be close. We, in the South, are especially obsessed with fried chicken! I didn’t know they had this obsession in the city.
Need to find somewhere that the toddler can’t get to me ??
This looks incredible! I’ll have to try it soon!