
Been craving fried chicken now
And my itsy bitsy deep fryer (fry daddy) makes that really inconvenient (yet possible!), so I’m going to split the difference for some
pop-corn chicken
- Marinate boneless skinless chicken thigh halves & quarters in jalapeño “buttermilk” (cashew cream or coconut cream with a splash of apple cider vinegar & a handful of diced jalapeños) overnight. Total extra step, but whether buttermilk, or pickle juice (how chik filet does theirs), or “Turkey” brine? Swoon. Badass awesome juicy end result.
- dip* or double dip** in extra thick tempura batter
(Dip, drip, dunk!)
or
(Dip, drip, pixiedust, dip, drip, dunk!)
- deep fry in peanut oil until golden brown
^^^^
Also makes for awesome spicy crispy chicken sandwiches, if thighs are butterflied (instead of bite sized), marinated in Serrano buttermilk, tempura batter dipped, Panko+HotSauce dredged, & deep fried. But I am out of buns, and am not walking 8mi to the store for them.

Maybe later this week
* To minimize messy fingers I use a slotted spoon to scoop all the chicken pieces from the marinade to a ziplock bag with cornstarch, and shake shake shake! Pull apart any stuck together, and shake a bit more. Then dump them out onto a plate, and stab with a stick to dip into batter, drip, and dunk into hot oil (using another stick, or whatever, to scoot them off my stick. Then go for the next, and repeat).
** To double dip, have a bowl of cornstarch (pixiedust) on hand, and go from batter to cornstarch to batter to oil. I’m not a big “extra crispy” fan, but some people love that.