Hot Honey Butter Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- Dill Pickles
- Ranch dressing
- Buns
- Butter or mayo (for toasting buns)
WET MIXTURE
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
DRY MIXTURE
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp seasoning salt
- 1 tbsp each smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
HOT HONEY BUTTER SAUCE
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make them thinner. Mix together the wet ingredients in one large container and the dry ingredients in a second large container.
- Add the chicken to the wet mixture and let sit for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. I usually marinate the chicken for 1-2 hours before breading the chicken.
- After about an hour or so, bread the chicken. Pour 1/2 cup of the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Stir with a fork to make some lumps in the dry mixture.
- The chicken will go from the wet mixture, to the dry mixture, back into the wet mixture, and into the dry mixture one last time. Be sure to press the “crumbs” into the chicken and set aside.
- Fry the chicken in a deep fryer or pot at 400 degrees F for about 6 minutes or until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Toast your buns in a pan over medium heat until golden brown. You can spread butter or mayo on the buns if desired to help them toast.
- For the Hot Honey Butter sauce, melt the butter. Add honey, hot sauce, and cayenne pepper. Stir everything together well. Carefully dip the fried chicken in the sauce until well coated.
- Build the fried chicken sandwiches on toasted buns and top them with pickles and ranch dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
- After breading the chicken I've found that letting it rest for 10-15 minutes before frying the chicken will help the coating stay on the chicken.
- Once your chicken is fried, place it on a wire rack to rest. This will help that breading stay crispy while any extra grease drains away from the chicken. Through testing fried chicken recipes, the wire rack is much more effective than using paper towels.
- Don't skip toasting your buns! Toasted buns will help the bun hold up better to the fried chicken and the sticky Honey sauce. No one wants a soggy bun.
- When dipping the fried chicken in the hot honey butter, do it carefully! There's nothing worse than messing up the perfectly fried chicken breading. I like to very gently use tongs to flip the chicken around in the bowl of sauce.
- The biggest tip I can give for frying chicken is making sure you don't over crowd your deep fryer or pan. It's best to work in batches. I like to fry 3 pieces at a time to ensure the chicken doesn't lower the temp of the fryer. If that happens the chicken could end up too greasy and not as crispy.
- I like frying chicken in peanut oil because it has a high smoke point and gives the chicken a crispy crust.
- If you don't want to use peanut oil Canola oil is another solid oil for frying chicken. Canola oil also has a high smoke point and is affordable and super easy to find at your grocery store.
- The hot honey butter does have a kick of heat, but that can easily be made less spicy if you want a sweeter fried chicken sandwich. Omit the cayenne pepper or use less hot sauce.
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!