When I saw that the “recipe” for this month’s Crazy Cooking Challenge was fried chicken I may have let out a little squeal. I will full-heartedly admit that fried chicken is my favorite food. God was in a very good mood when he gave whoever invented it the idea! I mean, it’s crunchy, juicy, greasy, salty…the things deliciousness are made of. As much as I love it, I very rarely eat it and never make it homemade. We don’t really ever fry anything so it’s just an occasional indulgence when we go out to eat. But I was more than happy to give it an attempt at home for the sake of the Challenge.
I found a billion different blogger recipes I wanted to try but I decided on this one because it was created based on Popeye’s Chicken and you just can’t go wrong with that. It was just as the name states and totally delicious. Whenever I need a crispy, fried indulgence this is exactly what will pop into my head and cook up on my stove!
Extra Crispy Spicy Fried Chicken
recipe from From Away
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup hot red pepper sauce (I like Louisiana Hot Sauce)
4 cups flour
2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoon paprika
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 quart buttermilk (optional)
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder (to taste)
1 (1 to 2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into pieces
Peanut Oil, for frying
1. Place cut-up chicken in a large bowl, and cover with buttermilk. Cover and chill for two hours, or overnight. This is an optional (but recommended) step.
2. In a large bowl, add eggs, water, and red pepper sauce. Whisk until combined.
3. In a large gallon freezer bag, mix flour, pepper, paprika, and cayenne.
4. Remove chicken from buttermilk (if marinated) and sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
5. Place all chicken pieces in freezer bag with flour mixture. Shake until all pieces are evenly coated.
6. Remove chicken pieces one at a time, shaking excess flour. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, and return to bag of flour. After all pieces of been dipped in the egg mixture and put back in the bag, give it a second shake to coat chicken pieces again.
7. Heat oil in deep fryer or deep pan to 350 degrees. Working in batches, drop each piece of chicken into the hot oil. Fry for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasionally if oil does not completely cover chicken. Keep in mind that dark meat chicken takes longer to cook than white meat. Watch your wing segments, as well; these will finish cooking first.
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I love how crispy it is! Perfect! Stopping by from #3
-Krystal @ recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com
What beautiful fried chicken! Gorgeous!
Extra crispy and spicy sounds wonderful in my world. I too rarely fry so this challenge was a treat in our home too.
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my CCC entry Copycat “KFC” Original Recipe Fried Chicken
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
I need this ….. looks so good! Pinned it!
This is absolutely beautiful! My favorite part is the crispy skin, and yours looks amazing!
#46
I just want to peel the skin off your chicken and eat it for the rest of my life. I will have to come back to this recipe because I think Husband will really enjoy it.
I love the skin too! It’s my favorite part on chicken.
these spicy chicken are perfect for my flavor palate
Oh my goodness! This loks so incredibly crunchy and delicious! Great SRC pick!
I’m CCC #10
i made this for my boyfriend and he and his friends absolutely loved it…!!it was compared to kfc!! *blush …i shoulv used the whole cup of hot sauce instead of half though…really yummmy n crispyyy
So glad you enjoyed it!
My husband says Popeyes chicken is the best food in the world, lol. I look forward to making this with him.
meg, this chicken sounds wonderful. what kind of hot sauce do you use
Oh, it was! I prefer Louisiana Hot Sauce so that is what I used (but you could use Franks or Tabasco too).
A buttermilk soak is not optional if you want your chicken to be juicy and tender. I don’t use any eggs. I put hot sauce, salt, sugar, and pressed garlic right in the buttermilk and let the chicken soak in that overnight, so it’s basically brined in buttermilk, then the chicken goes into flour seasoned with sweet paprika, cayenne, and fresh ground black pepper.
I let it sit in the flour for about 45 minutes before frying, because it will cook more evenly if it’s not as cold, and the breading adheres better if it sits (the flour absorbs the liquid). You can leave it in the flour or put it on a cooling rack for that time, but it makes a difference in the final product. The other trick is to never let your oil drop below 375. If the oil isn’t hot enough at any point, the chicken will be greasy.
Another way to do it is to make batter fried chicken. The trick with that is to pat the chicken dry, flour it, then dip it in batter. Flouring first helps the batter to stick.
Self Rising or All Purpose Flour?
All purpose flour.
Is it necessary to cook in peanut oil?
It isn’t absolutely isn’t that you fry in peanut oil it is just the prefered oil as it neutral and won’t impart any flavor on the chicken. It also has a high smoke point so it can be brought to a higher temperature. I have used veggie oil in the past with good results.
Hello…
Chicken looks amazing….. For those who are interested, here is a link to a demo video on how to cut up a whole chicken into pieces….
The Test Kitchen: How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken – Gourmet Magazine ….. That is the name of the video you can google that within Youtube and find it that way too…. Take care all…… Happy New Year…. Kelly
When I worked at POPEYE’S ,the spices were added to the flour.I prefer to buy it from Popeye’s, I don’t like when the ends bleed, and grosses me out.
I had this recipe pinned (from Pinterest) and my youngest son (who’s 7) got to pick tonight’s dinner, but it had to be chicken. So he was looking on my Chicken board and chose your recipe!
I was glad he did. I LOVE fried chicken! Can’t wait for dinner! 
Thanks for sharing.
~Jen
Awesome! It’s so good! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Oh my gosh! Delicious! I’m so glad I pinned this! Thanks again. My new favorite chicken recipe!
Could I use boneless chicken breast instead???
You could definitely use chicken breasts instead but it will dry out faster so be mindful of that. Also, since it doesn’t have the skin, it may not get as crispy.
I love Popeye’s spicy chicken!! There’s no Popeye’s where I live so it’s on my list of places to visit when I’m home! I will definitely be trying this recipe soon! Thanks for sharing it!
I tried this recipe tonight, and for the amount of work & mess involved I didn’t think it was that great. It was OK, and the hot sauce gave it a nice subtle flavor, but it was mostly pretty bland. If I made it again I would at least add some salt or something to the flour mixture. I expected it to have more of a kick, and even though I thought it wasn’t too bad I definitely wouldn’t make it again.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as you had hoped.
Did you use a deep fryer or just a deep pan for frying? I’m using legs for this and just hope to be able to cook them thoroughly while not burning the outside.
I used a deep pan and flipped them halfway through the cooking process since the oil didn’t completely cover them.
I used this recipe to make chicken tenders, and it worked perfectly!!!
I agree that soaking in buttermilk is an absolute must any time you are frying chicken. Actually, I soak everything I fry in buttermilk..it’s unsouthern not to! Also, I’ve always fried everything is self rising flour. It makes a better crust (in my opinion)
Reblogged this on Pattie's Useful Useless Knowledge and commented:
Extra Crispy Spicy Fried Chicken (copycat Popeye’s)
*For Erica*