Spicy fried chicken with sour cream dip

Name: Spicy fried chicken with sour cream dip
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 free-range chicken thighs, bone in, skin on; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 600ml buttermilk; 2 lemons, cut into wedges

Neil Perry

April 7, 2020

Spicy fried chicken with sour cream dip.William Meppem

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4

Who doesn’t love fried chicken? Serve this classic with potato salad and coleslaw, or mix some gochujang, sesame oil, soy and honey to make a spicy Korean dressing to toss the chicken in once it’s out of the fryer. In that case, you’d finish with toasted sesame seeds and serve with kim chi, rice and steamed greens. You could also replace the chicken with thick-cut eggplant and zucchini for a vegetarian dish.

Ingredients

8 free-range chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
600ml buttermilk
2 lemons, cut into wedges

Spiced coating

600g (4 cups) plain flour
2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Korean chilli powder
1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Sour cream dip

240g (1 cup) sour cream
½ lemon, juiced
½ bunch chives, finely cut

Method

1. To make the dip, mix the sour cream with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, then set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Fill a deep-fryer or saucepan two-thirds full of oil and heat to 180°C. If you are using a saucepan, use a kitchen thermometer as a guide, because you don't want the oil to get too hot.
3. Combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl, then split between two medium bowls. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season to taste.
4. Place the bowls in a line starting with one bowl of coating, followed by the buttermilk, then the other bowl of coating, and place a tray or plate at the end.
5. Dip each chicken thigh into the first bowl of coating, patting off any excess. Then dip into the buttermilk, allowing the excess milk to run back into the bowl. Then dip into the second bowl of coating. Place on the plate or tray and repeat until all the chicken thighs are coated.
6. Working in batches, gradually lower the thighs into the hot oil. If using a saucepan rather than a deep-fryer, make sure you adjust the temperature to get it back to 180°C as quickly as possible. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then carefully move the chicken pieces around in the oil and continue to fry, for a further 12-14 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown and very crisp.
7. Drain on paper towel, then pile the pieces onto a plate. Add the chives to the dip, and serve on the side with lemon wedges. Great accompanied with coleslaw, coriander and potato salad.