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All Homemade Crispy Chicken with Smoky Bacon and Ranch Dip

Here's how you make All Homemade Crispy Chicken with Smoky Bacon and Ranch Dip
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  • Servings: 6
  • Prep: 20-30m
  • Cook: 20m
    • The following recipe serves 6 people.

Ingredients

The ingredients are:
  • Brine
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 6 grams salt (1/5 ounce)
  • 6 grams coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground (1/5 ounce)
  • 3 grams black peppercorns, toasted and finely ground
  • 1 1/2 pounds (600 grams) chicken tenders (alternately you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into quarters)
  • Ranch Dip
  • (NOTE: You'll have more than you needed - it keeps well for 3- 4 days in the fridge, and is perfect in roast beef or chicken sandwiches or in a simple lettuce salad. You can also cut down the dip recipe, if you prefer.)
  • 1 1/4 ounce (35 grams) shallots, thinly diced
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 3/4 cup (200 grams) creme fraiche (or substitute with sour cream or you can make your own https://www.recipezazz.com/recipe/homemade-creme-fraiche-27348)
  • 7 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1/4 ounce (7 grams) fresh dill, finely chopped (I would think you could also use dried dill and adjust the amount)
  • 1/4 ounce (7 grams) chives, thinly sliced
  • Small pinch of smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tablespoon Korean chile paste (like Gochujang)
  • Small pinch freshly ground black pepper
  • Grated zest and juice of 1/4 - 1/2 lime (more or less to your taste)
  • 1/3 teaspoon Sea salt
  • 12 slices smoked bacon, diced
  • Flour Mixture
  • 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons semolina flour or corn flour, if you don't have semolina
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt, fine salt
  • 1/5 ounce (6 grams) coriander seeds, toasted and ground
  • 1/10 ounce (3 grams) black peppercorns, toasted and ground
  • And the rest
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying (about 2 quarts [2 liters])
  • Lemon slices, to serve
We recommend you get your ingredients ready before you start cooking. Once you're ready, here are the steps to making this delicious recipe

How to Make

  • Step 1: BRINE: Mix all the brine ingredients together in a bowl. Add the chicken tenders (or cut up chicken thighs), cover and chill for 12 - 24 hours.

  • Step 2: RANCH DIP: Mix all the ingredients together, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cover and chill until required.

  • Step 3: COOK THE BACON: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the diced bacon in a frying pan, add just enough water to cover, and place over medium heat, stirring and skimming occasionally. After about 25 minutes, when all the water has evaporated, add the butter and keep stirring as the butter foams. When the bacon is dark and golden brown, strain it (you can keep the fat for using in other recipes), and pat the bacon bits with paper towels to remove excess butter and fat. Place the bacon bits on the baking sheet and put in an oven on the lowest setting for 30 minutes until dehydrated and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside.

  • Step 4: WORKING THE CHICKEN: Wash the brine off of the chicken and place it in a large bowl. Add 6 tablespoons (900 ml) cold water to the chicken pieces in the bowl, and squeeze them (almost in a kneading-like manner) - the water will be incorporated into the chicken and the fat from the skin will release and emulsify into the water. Add more water 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time, continuing to work the chicken, and after about 5 minutes the water coating the chicken will thicken and go creamy. This is SUPER IMPORTANT, as it means the chicken will hold more flour, giving it a chunky, thick coating that will keep the chicken moist inside and crunchy on the outside. The thickness of the coating means the chicken won't dry out as it fries.

  • Step 5: MAKING THE CHICKEN: Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep saucepan until it reaches 340-degrees F / 170-degrees C.

  • Step 6: Mix all of the flour mixture ingredients together in a bowl. Place the chicken pieces one by one (without draining the water off) in the flour mixture and roll carefully until they're completely covered. Drop 6 - 10 pieces of chicken at a time (depending how big your fryer or saucepan is) into the hot oil and fry for 4 minutes. Remove carefully and leave to drain on paper towels.

  • Step 7: Serve the chicken with the lemon slices and the ranch dip scattered with the smoky bacon bits.

We hope you enjoy this recipe!

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