Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
Crispy fried chicken sandwiches tossed with a spicy hot honey and topped with garlic mayo, lettuce, and pickles on toasted brioche buns.
Equipment
- Deep FryerOR
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cupbuttermilk
- 1 tablespoonhot sauce
- 1 teaspoonground paprika
- 1 teaspoongarlic powder
- 1 teaspoonkosher salt
- 1 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breastscut in half horizontally to have 4 fillets
- 1/2 cuphoney
- 3 tablespoonshot sauce
- 1 tablespooncrushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoonground cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoongarlic powder
- 1/2 cupmayonnaise
- 1 clovegarlicpressed or finely minced
- 1 teaspoonfresh lemon juice
- 1 cupall-purpose flour
- 1/2 cupcornstarch
- 1 teaspoonground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoonkosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
- 4-6 cupsvegetable oilfor frying
- 4 brioche bunstoasted
- Lettuce leaves
- Pickles
Instructions
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce, ground paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Add the 4 chicken fillets (the breasts cut in half horizontally) to the mixture, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
- While the chicken marinates, make the hot honey: combine the honey, hot sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, ground cayenne pepper, and garlic powder in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until it just begins to simmer, then let simmer gently for 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, pressed or finely minced garlic clove, and fresh lemon juice. Set the garlic mayo aside.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, ground cayenne pepper, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix until evenly blended — this is the breading.
- Pour 4–6 cups of vegetable oil into a deep fryer or a heavy Dutch oven (use enough oil so the chicken can float while frying) and heat to 340°F, using a deep-fry thermometer to monitor the temperature.
- Remove a piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture and let excess drip off for a few seconds. Dredge the chicken thoroughly in the flour-cornstarch mixture, pressing the coating onto the surface so it adheres. Shake off any loose excess. Repeat for remaining fillets and work in batches as needed.
- Fry the chicken in the hot oil in batches to avoid overcrowding. Fry until the coating is golden brown and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F, about 7–8 minutes per side (use an instant-read thermometer to check doneness). Transfer cooked fillets to a paper towel-lined tray to drain.
- Toast the brioche buns.
- To assemble each sandwich: spread a portion of the garlic mayo on the bottom half of a toasted bun, place lettuce leaves on top of the mayo, set a fried chicken fillet on the lettuce, generously drizzle with the cooled hot honey sauce, add pickles, and finish with the top bun. Serve immediately.
Notes
Let the buttermilk drip off before adding the chicken to the flour mixture. If it is too wet, the flour will not stick properly.
If you’re not using a deep fryer, make sure to check the temperature of the oil often with an instant-read thermometer. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the breading and leave the chicken raw. If too cold, the chicken will be greasy.
Don’t overcrowd the fryer. This will drop the temperature of the oil, leading to soggy, greasy chicken.
Place the fried chicken pieces on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet in a 200°F oven to keep warm while you finish frying the rest.
If you’re not using a deep fryer, make sure to check the temperature of the oil often with an instant-read thermometer. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the breading and leave the chicken raw. If too cold, the chicken will be greasy.
Don’t overcrowd the fryer. This will drop the temperature of the oil, leading to soggy, greasy chicken.
Place the fried chicken pieces on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet in a 200°F oven to keep warm while you finish frying the rest.