Honey Fried Chicken - twice fried with hot sauce and honey on top

Twice-fried chicken with a honey and hot sauce glaze. It's super-crispy and delicious and the reason I pay a lot of money to subscripe to Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines. They do their research on how to make food great. This is super-crispy and amazingly delicious. And the secret ingredient is cornstarch. Okay, peeps, let's fry some chicken. First of all, we're going to brine. Put 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of sugar into 2 quarts of water.

Then add your chicken parts. I used all drumsticks here.

Let the chicken brine for about thirty minutes. This is the secret to absolutely juicy fried chicken. Do not skip this step! I'll know and I'll find you. Now mix up the batter.  No flour needed. Just a cup of cornstarch, 3/4 of a cup of water, two teaspoons of pepper and a tablespoon of salt.

Stir it all together. This is going to be a thick batter

Now get the oil to boiling. About two inched of oil in a Dutch oven should take care of it. But you will most likely have to fry your chicken in batches.

You'll need to get the oil to 350 degrees. Once your chicken is drained, you cat pat it dry and then you need dredge it in about 1/2 a cup of corn starch. Make sure to completely coat it.

Let the chicken sit for  minute while you check the oil temp and move your batter over near the pan.

Once the oil is hot enough (and use a thermometer darn it!) Dip the chicken in the batter and shake it over the bowl to get rid of the extra.

Then the chicken goes into the hot oil. Stand back, baby cause it's splattering time!

Cook the chicken for about seven minutes. Then you're going to take it out and let it rest for seven minutes or more. The chicken is NOT done. This is only the first fry.

Let the oil get back to 350 and then give the first fry to your next batch of chicken. Let it rest while you give the second fry to your first batch. Make sure the oil gets back to 350. Remember, cook once for seven minutes, let rest for at least seven minutes and then fry for a second time for seven minutes.

While the chicken is frying, you can make the glaze. Combine 3/4 cup of honey and two tablespoons of hot sauce. I like Frank's.

Heat the mixture for a minute in the microwave. Then pour the hot mixture in a bowl.

After seven minutes of frying, your chicken should be at least 160 degrees. It never hurts to check the temp.

By the way, I cleaned the rack over the sheet pan in hot water and soap before I put the cooked chicken on it. No cross-contamination kiddos. Now gently toss the cooked chicken in the glaze.

Once it is thoroughly coated, put the chicken pieces on the rack over a sheet pan to drip a bit. You can put the left over glaze in a bowl or gravy boat to serve on the side if you like.

Super cripsy thin coating and absolutely delicious.

I served it with corn, smashed potatoes, fresh baked bread and sweet tea.

Tasty and worth the effort. Enjoy.