First: Brine the chicken
1/2 c. hot sauce
1/2 c. salt
1/2 c. sugar
3-4 lb. chicken (I used seven chicken breasts total)
Dissolve all of the ingredients in 2 quarts of cold water in a large container. Submerge chicken, cover (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 30 - 60 minutes.
Spicy oil coating
You will put this on at the very end. It adds the kick. If you want something less spicy - either leave it off or use it very sparingly.
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Add cayenne, paprika, sugar, garlic powder and 1/2 tsp. salt and cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
After the chicken has been brined, pour out the chicken - drain well. Pat dry both sides of all pieces with paper towel. Prep a cookie sheet with a wire rack to set the chicken on. Dredge all sides of chicken - twice. I actually did this three times. Since there is no egg wash on the chicken, you won't have a ton of breading but that's ok. It was a nice amount but not ridiculous.
Heat about 2-3 quarts of oil in a large pan. Enough that it covers about 1 1/2" - 2" of the pan. Heat to 350 degrees. Add 3-4 breasts and cook for 10-15 minutes until internal temperature registers 160-175 degrees. (Original recipe says to keep oil at 350 but I thought it was going to explode all over and I couldn't keep it higher than 250 once I started. It took about 10 minutes to be done. All just fine.) Put fried chicken onto a paper towel to absorb grease or let drip on another wire rack on a baking sheet. Stir spicy oil to combine and brush onto chicken. If you want a less spicy piece, only do one side or put it on very sparingly. Heat oven to 200 to keep fried chicken warm. Serve and enjoy!!
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