Fried Chicken With Virtue Cider Michigan Honey Butter Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare the biscuits: In a bowl, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add butter and use the fork to mash it into the flour until the mixture resembles large, lumpy crumbs. Stir in milk until a dough comes together.
• Flour your hands, then gently gather and knead the dough in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it springs back slightly to the touch. (If the dough is sticky, sprinkle additional flour as needed.) Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and rest dough in fridge for half hour.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough to 1 to 1 1/2 inch thickness. Use a floured knife or round cutter to cut 6 biscuits, about 3 1/2 inches wide. Reroll the scraps and cut again as needed.
• Place biscuits on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have puffed up and the tops are slightly golden. Let cool completely on a wired rack at room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container if not using until the next day.
• Prepare the chicken: Trim excess fat and any membranes from the meat, then lightly hammer the thickest parts of the thighs with a mallet or rolling pin. Season each side with salt.
• Mix flour, cayenne and salt in one wide bowl. Beat eggs in a second wide bowl, and place panko in a third. Dip each chicken thigh in flour, coating it all over and patting off the excess, then in egg, allowing extra egg to drip off, then in panko, making sure each thigh is entirely coated in bread crumbs, and using your hands to press loose crumbs into any places where they look scarce.
• In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, pour in oil to a 2-inch depth and heat to 350 degrees. Fry 2 thighs at a time, flipping them over every two minutes or so, until golden brown and crisp all over, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a wire rack set over a paper towel-lined sheet pan and season lightly with salt. Let cool entirely at room temperature, at least 1 hour. At this point, you can assemble the sandwiches or transfer the rack to the fridge and leave the chicken uncovered overnight.
• Assemble the sandwiches: When both the chicken and biscuits have cooled (or the next day), mix together soft butter, honey and hot sauce until smooth. Cut open cooled biscuits, smear each cut side with honey butter, and sandwich with a piece of chicken. If traveling, loosely wrap each sandwich in a piece of parchment paper and pack side by side in a hard container, in a single layer, so the sandwiches aren't crushed. Serve with additional hot sauce and pickles on the side.

Steps:

• To brine the chicken, begin by combining 3/4 C kosher salt, 1/2 C sugar, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and the lemon peel in a large pot and heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally
• Cut the chicken breast pieces in half so they're roughly the same size as the thighs; place chicken pieces in brine for 12-24 hours
• When ready to fry, remove chicken from brine and dry with paper towels
• For the dredge, mix flours, spices, 3 tsp kosher salt, and baking powder well
• To begin breading the chicken, divide dredge into two deep containers
• Pour buttermilk into a third container. Add paprika and salt
• Batter chicken pieces one at a time by dipping first in the flour mixture, then buttermilk
• Drip slightly, then coat in second dredge container (don't let it get too thick!)
• Rest on a plate while battering the rest of the chicken. Heat oil to 340 degrees F
• Fry the chicken in batches making sure the oil is at a constant 315-320 degrees F
• Place on a wire rack over a cookie sheet or paper towels to cool. Dust with paprika and salt
• To make the Virtue Cider Michigan Honey Butter, whip all ingredients together until aerated and fluffy. Serve room temperature with hot chicken