This Hot Honey Fried Chicken is my new favourite fried chicken recipe! Chicken drumsticks are marinated in buttermilk and hot sauce, before being coated in a great tasting spice blend and fried to crisp perfection. Coat in a sweet and spicy hot honey sauce and these bad boys will disappear in no time!
Ingredients
To Clean Chicken
- 16 chicken drumsticks (can use other parts of chicken, if desired)
- Cold Water
- White Vinegar
- Lemon slices
Seasoning Mix
- 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons hot chili powder
- 1 and ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 and ½ teaspoons Cayenne pepper
- 1 and ½ teaspoons White pepper
- 1 and ½ teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
Buttermilk Marinade
- ½ of the seasoning mix
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup hot sauce
Flour Coating
- 2 and ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ of the seasoning mix (above)
For Frying
- 2 and ½ quarts (10 cups) cooking oil, for frying
Hot Honey Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup hot sauce (I used Franks Red Hot)
Instructions
Cleaning the Chicken
- Add your chicken into a large airtight container.
- Place the slices of one lemon onto the chicken, then pour equal amounts of cold water and white vinegar into the container. I used 4 cups of each, but if you have a bigger or smaller container, the amount may change. Just make sure it’s an equal amount of each.
- Cover the container and allow the chicken to soak in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the liquid and discard the lemon slices.
- Place the chicken pieces onto a paper towel lined baking sheet. Use another large sheet of paper towel and press onto the chicken. Fold the paper towel and pat both sides of the chicken until it’s almost completely dry.
- Place chicken into a clean large dish or airtight container. Set aside.
For the Seasoning Mix
- Combine all the spices together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Marinading the Chicken: - Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of the seasoning mix onto the chicken in the dish.
- Add the beaten eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce. Using a wooden spoon or your clean hands (I wore food safe gloves) mix everything together. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged in the marinade.
- Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
Coating the Chicken
- Pour your oil into a deep pot, clipping a frying/candy thermometer to the side of your pot (making sure it’s not touching the bottom) and heat until the oil reaches 350°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, test a piece of the flour and if it begins to fry gently, the oil is ready.
- Line one baking sheet with a wire rack. Line a second baking sheet with paper towels, if you have another clean rack, place it on top. Set the second one aside.
- While the oil is heating, in a large dish, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and the remaining seasoning mix. Whisk until completely combined.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Working one at a time, take a piece of chicken out of the marinade and place into the seasoned flour mixture.
- Completely coat the chicken in the flour, shake off the excess, then place onto the baking sheet lined with a rack. Repeat with remaining chicken.
For Frying
- Once the oil has reached 350°F, add the chicken to the oil, working in batches (if using different types of chicken, fry dark meat together and white meat together).
- Fry the chicken for 13-16 minutes (16-20 minutes for dark meat) The internal temperature should read 160 degrees F. If it’s not, do not return to oil, just preheat your oven to 350°F and bake the chicken until it reaches the correct internal temperature. You can also cut the chicken open to make sure it’s no longer pink.
- When the chicken is done frying, place onto the cooling rack (or onto paper towels) and let the chicken drain. Heat the oil back to 350°F and repeat until all chicken is cooked.
For the Hot Honey Sauce
- Add the unsalted butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until melted.
Once butter has melted, add the hot sauce and honey. Stir until completely combined, then allow to come to a simmer. - Turn off the heat and whisk until smooth. To coat the chicken, I recommend dipping each piece into the sauce, turning to coat completely. If there’s any sauce remaining, set it aside for dipping!
Serve immediately and enjoy!
