Smoked Paprika Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Just like pretty much everyone else in the universe I love fried chicken. I find it fun to experiment with different ways to prepare, flour and cook fried chicken. It's like my dumpling quest I'm chasing this fried chicken dragon and I'll probably never stop.
I used half a chicken for my Thai soup and put the other half in a buttermilk solution overnight which ..if you don't have buttermilk (I've never seen it in the UK) is just whole milk and a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
I love a classic bird but was itching for something crunchy, different and creamy so I used this beautiful Spanish smoked paprika to really enhance the flour and made a zingy Aioli with garlic, lemon, Cayenne sauce, olive oil and Aleppo Chilli flakes. Shallow fry it for a few minutes on each side, finish it off in the oven for ten. I sent myself to Spanish juicy bird food heaven. Crunch!
Smoked Paprika Buttermilk Fried Chicken with a Cayenne and Aleppo Chilli Aioli
Ingredients
- 1 medium chicken cut into 10 pieces ( breasts halved)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 cup (110g) flour
- 2 tablespoon good quality Spanish smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon corn flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon chilli powder (British chilli powder it's different in the US) or cayenne powder
- 1 1/3 tablespoons aleppo chilli flakes
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1 pasted garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- Cayenne sauce ( like Franks Red Hot) and aleppo flakes to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Put the chicken pieces in a bag with the whole milk and vinegar and refrigerate overnight.The next evening preheat oven to 180C/350F
- Take the chicken out 30 minutes prior to cooking, drain the solution and salt the chicken, set aside.
- Mix the flour with seasoning.
- In a shallow saucepan put veg oil in about 2 inches high, heat until it reaches 425 F / 218 C.
- Pat chicken dry, coat in the flour and shake off excess flour then fry for about 3 minutes per side ( until golden brown)
- Finish in the oven on a wire rack for 10 or until done.
- Mix all of the aioli ingredients together and adjust to taste.
- Sprinkle chicken with a bit of salt and serve hot with aioli, garnish with more aleppo flakes.