Honey Butter Fried Chicken

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 30 minutes plus 2 hours or overnight marinating

Cooking time: 30 minutes

For marinade

1.8kg chicken, cut into 10 pieces
500ml/2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper

For coating

2 cups plain flour
1 cup tapioca flour
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 eggs
2 litres/8 cups oil

For honey butter sauce

75g/2.7ozs. butter
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Step 1 - Mix the buttermilk, Old Bay, salt and pepper together. Marinate the chicken pieces overnight in the buttermilk mixture in a ziploc bag.

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Not sexy

Step 2 - The next day place the chicken and buttermilk mixture in a large pot and bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Drain well (I know it will look a bit ghastly but trust me). Cool.

Step 3 - Make the honey butter. Melt the butter and honey together (and cayenne if using) until syrupy and melted.

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Step 4 - In a large bowl whisk the two flours, onion powder, garlic powder, Old Bay, baking powder, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Break the eggs in another bowl.

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Step 5 - Heat oil to 180C/350F. Dip the chicken in the flour, then the egg and then the flour again. If you are prepping to do this ahead of time line a tray with parchment and dip the chicken as above and then keep the flour out and then dip it in just before cooking. Place each piece of chicken gently in the oil four pieces at a time to make sure that the temperature stays high. Cook for a few minutes until the batter is crunchy and cooked (the inside of the chicken is already cooked). Brush or dip in the honey butter and serve.

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Personal Note

Although I am suggesting this for Father's Day I first made this a few weeks ago and served it at a dinner party with Monica and Marco. It wasn't so much a dinner party as a fried chicken party. I wanted to recreate the honey butter chicken I had eaten in Chicago which was so deliciously good that I think I ate most of it after a multi course Michelin starred dinner. If anyone would understand my love of fried chicken it would be my food twin Monica.

I love learning new things about friends. Just when you think you know someone, they surprise you. The other day I mentioned to her that I had a serious flossing thing. I floss twice a day and I can tell when people have poor flossing habits. I refuse to kiss Mr NQN unless he has flossed (yes I am that serious!). I feel like fresh breath is a considerate gift that you bestow tos people in close proximity (and yes I am crazy).

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That night over fried chicken Monica was talking and she casually mentioned she once had a cat called Kitty Loggins (Kenny Loggins). As a kid of the 80s I stopped short and said, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?". I could not stop laughing that she and I shared a love of the movie Top Gun and that spiralled onto a conversation about the soothing effects of The Office reruns. It's like you discover another reason why we were meant to be friends. What I also loved was Monica's commitment to the theme where she wore a chicken jumper!

So tell me something new about yourself Dear Reader! And how often do you floss? Do you have a food twin?

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