I’ve been testing out my fried chicken recipes lately, trying to get the perfect breading, making sure it’s crispy, and moist and flavorful on the inside. This recipe, which requires no brining, has come out the winner. The first thing I found was that chicken thighs are a must. The meat is already packed with so much flavor, and like I noted here, they’re hard to overcook which is perfect for frying. The second thing in great fried chicken is the oil. Peanut oil was the definite winner – and if you have allergies, vegetable oil is just fine, but peanut oil was for sure my favorite. And the third thing was putting a little pickle juice in the buttermilk before breading. Trust me, it works.
Last week, my mom told me that she made these great biscuits stuffed with ham and mustard butter (using that in a recipe soon!). She found the recipe here and when she sent me the picture they looked incredible. Fluffy from the yeast, yet they looked flaky and moist. I’ve been trying to find a good biscuit recipe and mine always turn out okay, not bad, but definitely nothing spectacular. I decided to try these – wary of the yeast since I am in the south, but they were SO good. Like melt in your mouth, got to have at least three, ‘can I just eat these forever?’, good. Since fried chicken and biscuits are kind of a staple in the south, I decided to make a breakfast sandwich (yes, this is definitely breakfast fare) that would top all other breakfast sandwiches.
The pimento cheese goes so well with these biscuits – spread a thin layer on (or thick, whatever your preference) and top with a few slices of pickles and these breakfast sandwiches are sure to be a hit. For the fried chicken you don’t have to dip the chicken in buttermilk and pickle juice – but the pickle juice just gives it that something that you just can’t put your finger on. I can’t say enough about these sandwiches – they’re just that good.
Fried Chicken and Pimento Cheese Biscuits
For the fried chicken:
2 cups of flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
Salt and pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup pickle juice (I like/use Claussen brand)
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Peanut oil, for frying
For the sandwiches:
6 biscuits (I used this recipe and it was fantastic – can’t rave about it enough)
6 pieces of fried chicken
Pimento cheese (I made my recipe with pepper jack cheese, or you can use your favorite store-bought)
Pickle slices (again, I use Claussen brand)
For the fried chicken, take out two shallow bowls. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt and pepper in one. In the other, mix the buttermilk and the pickle juice together. Take the chicken thighs and dredge in the flour, then in the buttermilk, then back in the flour, shaking off any excess. Repeat with remaining thighs.
Heat your oven to 375 degrees. In a heavy bottomed skillet, heat about 1/2-1 inch of peanut oil over medium high heat. Test to see if the oil is hot enough by flicking a piece of flour in. If it sizzles, it’s ready. Fry in batches, I did three at a time, as to not over crowd the pan. Fry on each side for about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet and season with salt. Repeat with the other batch(es) of chicken and place in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until fully cooked through.
To assemble the sandwiches, cut the biscuits in half. Place a piece of chicken on the bottom half. On the other half spread a thin layer of pimento cheese and place 1-2 pickle slices. Place the pimento cheese half on top. Repeat with remaining biscuits. Serve immediately.
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I will take a delivery for a case of these glorious things. 🙂 I never have any luck making fried chicken. It always looks done on the outside and then I cut into it to find some kind of ghastly undercooked nightmare. Never thought to put them in the oven to finish cooking!
hahaha I wish I could send you a batch! 🙂 Oh, I know! The only way I can ever cook fried chicken is if I put it in the oven to finish – when I first started making fried chicken I would follow recipes and it would be like, cook three minutes per side and done. And I’d cut into them and be like…uhhhh this is no where near done! I’d always have to finish them in the oven – and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since! 🙂
Chances are you are frying you chicken at too high a temperature if it is cooked on the outside and not on the inside. Back the temp down to 325 degrees (just over medium heat) and you should be good. Just made these last night and they were wonderful.
Hi John – that is great advice. I have a thermometer and try to use it when I’m frying, but my gas burners can be finicky, so I normally finish cooking them in the oven to ensure that they have been cooked through. I’ll try lowering the temp to 325 next time – thanks! And I’m glad you liked these – they are one of my favorites!
I can’t even….that looks so good and you’re pictures are ridiculous.
Thank you so much!! You definitely just made my day 🙂
For some reason fried chicken is one of those things I only order out but never make at home. But this looks incredible and you’re making me realize I need to try this. I’ve heard about adding pickle juice to fried chicken but have never actually tried it. This is selling me! I can’t wait to try it.
Also, love the photos.
Totally understand that – I usually have such bad luck frying anything in general and I have the battle scars all over my body to prove it. This one is wayyyy easy though and for some reason the peanut oil made it so that there was hardly ANY “popping” from the oil, which was great. Yes, the pickle juice is so good in there – I’ve heard people brining their chicken in it overnight (which I think I need to try as well), but I just let the pieces of chicken sit in there for about a minute or so and it was great – you should definitely try it out! 🙂
Thanks so much, I appreciate it 🙂
These look fantastic, I love all the elements. I’ve been asked to bring a dish to a retirement brunch at work next week and I think you sold me. I might have to do a practice run this weekend first to be sure I can handle the chicken part. I’m more of a baker than I am with frying so finishing them up in the oven sounds good to me! Thank you for inspiration.
Thank you! I’m sure you’ll be able to handle the chicken – it’s really super easy – just make sure that your oil is hot enough (you can even use a thermometer – I’d fry it at 350-375 degrees) and that you don’t overcrowd the pan (I fried 2-3 pieces at a time in a medium sized skillet) because otherwise it’ll end up soggy which is not what you want. And finishing them up in the oven is the way to go just to make sure that they’re cooked all the way through and since you’re a baker that’ll be the easy part! If you’re making a lot I might even cut the chicken thighs in half if they’re really big – just depends on how big you make your biscuits. I hope they turn out great!
Well…I followed your recipe for the chicken, biscuits and pimento cheese and served them at the retirement party….what a success. Everyone loved the food and the pimento recipe was particularly a party ingrediant highlight. I mentioned I love to bake and the biscuits turned out excellent, I will definitely keep this around as a go to recipe. I actually love baking biscuits in my cast iron cookware and the result was great. I wish I could send you some pictures to showcase your inspirations. Thank you for your suggestion about frying….for me that was the new frontier I had to concur. I learned very quickly you need to be organized and go slow when frying and cook in small batches like you suggested.
Oh, I am SO happy to hear that everything was great! Did you make the biscuits that I linked to? They were so delicious – I think it will be my go-to biscuit recipe from now on. I have heard many people make their biscuits in their cast iron cookware and rave about it; I think you gave me the inspiration to give it a shot! If you have pictures of everything – you can definitely send them – I would love to see! Yes, you said it best – organization is key to frying so you’re not fumbling around the kitchen. Again I’m so glad that it was a success and I appreciate you sharing that with me! Hope you have a great weekend!
These pictures do more for me than any paintings in a gallery.
hahah thank you!! That’s seriously the best compliment ever! 🙂
Yes, I used the biscuit recipe link you provided. Once I read the ingredients I new it would turn out good but not that good. I was really interested in using the active dry yeast, that was something I’ve never done before when making biscuits but it really helped make the final product more airy and with a fluffy type texture. I’ve been using the cast iron for baking, not exclusively, but especially for my biscuits and yeast rolls and I’ll never go back. Just make sure your cookware is lightly oiled completely on the inside and not dry before you add your dough. I actually use my Emeril Cast Iron Stove Top Smoker for baking large size biscuits and rolls….they always turn out perfect and plus, you have a smoker you can use in your oven which is a whole other topic in itself. One more thing too, I really agree with Kerbey about your photos, they really are done so well and they say people do eat with their eyes and your images are definitely mouth watering!
I plan on making some yeast rolls in the near future, so I will definitely have to employ your technique – and I’m very interested in that cast iron stove top smoker – I would LOVE to have a smoker in my apartment, and one in the oven would solve that problem. Thanks for letting me know about that – I’m off to do some research! Thank you so much, I really do appreciate that – it always makes my day when people say they like the photographs! I’m still a beginner but it’s great motivation to keep learning! Thanks again!