Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwiches. You heard me. Crispy, spicy, and oh so nicey. This was a special request that I reluctantly attempted, I can’t say deep-fryers nor large vats of hot oil have ever been extremely kind to me, thus this has always been daunting. And now I have made this recipe near or around five times and it seems silly that I was even timid to dunk my little toe into the proverbial oil.
In my first attempt, I used a mix of whole chicken thighs and breasts, but as most trial and errors turn out, I ended up with an error. I only liked the chicken breasts and moving forward, I only used chicken breast. I cut the chicken breasts into three chunks. I placed the chicken chunks into a plastic, resealable bag and poured in enough buttermilk to cover the chicken so that it took a soothing, culturized bath. Okay it’s a drown, drown the chicken chunks so that it barely peaks through the see-through baggy and you can forget that you’re working with raw chicken. The first time I made this buttermilk dredge, I left it in the refrigerator for about an hour, the next few times it was for a few hours or so, and this last time was overnight. Low and behold, overnight won the taste contest. The chicken recipe was adapted and inspired by Chef John’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken (I am not affiliated with the aforementioned website or recipe).
Chicken Marinade Spices
As with most of my recipes, I try to use the correct ingredients and proper measurements, but alas, always end up omitting, adding, and tweaking recipes to my daily whim. Below is a list of spices I used. Listen to your instinct and remember you can always add more but you cannot remove!
- Fresh Sage
- Fresh and Dried Rosemary
- Fresh and Dried Thyme
- Cayenne
- Paprika
- Garlic Powder & Fresh Garlic
- Fresh and Dried Oregano
- Salt & Pepper
- White Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Fresh and Dried Flat Parsley
- Fresh and Dried Basil
It’s time to prepare the hot, steaming, oil-filled bath. I heated some vegetable oil, however, I can’t Help but hear Minny’s voice reminding Celia that Crisco is the best and only way to fry chicken. I mean, Minny was right about the healing power of fried chicken, so how could she be wrong about Crisco. However, I’m still waiting for my sandwich to retroactively make me feel better about this pandemic, I’ll keep you updated, I digress. The refrigerated chicken and marinade is now ready for a floury dunking powder. In a shallow bowl, I fill it halfway with flour and the other half a mixture of the listed spices. Buttermilk dredge, flour mixture, drop in oil, repeat.
Remember don’t place more than three pieces of chicken in the hot oil at once. If you overfill the pot, the heat will come down, the chicken can then become soaked with oil, and/or the chicken will not cook as fast.
I want to say that each side of the chicken will take about eight minutes to fry, but it could be more or it could be less, there are too many variables for me to tell you what to do from my office chair. You could have a faulty stove top that only heats half of your pot, your chicken could have been an involuntary diet before you bought him from the store, or maybe you’re trying to deep fry chicken for a party of 12, I don’t know and neither will you. Just try it!
Update: I stumbled upon the holy grail, or perhaps a convincing forgery, THE OVEN. If you’re unsure your chicken is done, shove it in the oven, if you’re still frying chicken for your large party, thrust it in the oven, if you’re wanting to reheat your chicken to achieve the same day crispiness, for next day’s lunch, push it into that oven, baby. Additionally, slice the pepper jack cheese and plop it overtop the fried chicken in the oven, it melts right into the chicken, couldn’t ask for anything better.
Edible Elements
- Brioche Bun, Sourdough bread, Onion bun worked for me as well
- Fried Chicken
- Pepperjack Cheese
- Red Onion
- Arugula
- Mayonnaise
- Avocado
- Tomato – Big fan of heirloom
- Chipotle Sauce – Buy it, Borrow it, Make your own
- Optional: Sweet Pickles – Courtesy of my mother’s tastebuds
- Optional Sides: Sweet potato fries, potato salad, broccoli slaw
This masterpiece of a sandwich deserves an honorable mention, so much so, that my mother requested this dish for Mother’s Day Eve dinner, is that a thing? We should make it a thing. I earnestly recommend this beautiful creation, hubris aside, for anyone jonesing for a wholesome, comfort food. Take the dive, you know everything tastes better deep fried. Deep Fried Chicken Sandwiches seems an unquestionably reasonable conclusion to The Buttermilk Chronicles. Deep bow. The End.
Citation
Chef John, “Chef John’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken”, Allrecipes. April 8, 2021. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220128/chef-johns-buttermilk-fried-chicken/
Edible Memoir 
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