Boneless Buffalo Chicken
By America's Test KitchenPublished on November 7, 2011
Time
55 minutes, plus 30 minutes marinating
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
In step 3, the fried chicken pieces can be held in a 200-degree oven for 30 minutes before being tossed with the sauce. A relatively mild cayenne pepper-based hot sauce, like Frank’s, is essential; avoid hotter sauces like Tabasco. If desired, serve with our Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing.
Instructions
- MARINATE Combine chicken, buttermilk, and salt in large zipper-lock bag and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Combine hot sauce, water, sugar, butter, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- COAT Whisk egg whites in shallow dish until foamy. Stir flour, baking soda, remaining cornstarch, and 6 tablespoons hot sauce mixture in second shallow dish until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Toss half of chicken with egg whites until well coated, then dredge chicken in cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken to plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
- FRY Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half of chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.
- TOSS Warm remaining hot sauce mixture over medium-low heat until simmering. Combine chicken and hot sauce mixture in large bowl and toss to coat. Serve.
- MAKE AHEAD This dish freezes beautifully. In step 3, fry each batch of chicken until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool chicken on paper towel-lined plate, then transfer to freezer. Once chicken is completely frozen (this should take about 2 hours), transfer it to zipper-lock bag and freeze for up to 1 month. (Freeze the sauce separately in an airtight container for up to 1 month.) When ready to serve, heat 4 cups oil to 350 degrees and fry the chicken in 2 batches until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Reheat sauce in microwave or in saucepan over medium-low heat until warm. Toss chicken with sauce as directed. Serve.
Time
55 minutes, plus 30 minutes marinatingYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
A fried chicken-style marinade of buttermilk and salt kept the delicate white meat in our Boneless Buffalo Chicken juicy and moist, and helped season it as well. For an extra crunchy coating, we turned to a technique we’ve used in the past: dipping the chicken in beaten egg whites, then dredging it in a mixture of cornstarch, flour, and baking soda (for browning) that turned moist and lumpy with the addition of a little hot sauce. We started with the standard sauce of equal parts melted butter and hot sauce, but with the fried coating the dish was greasy. Cutting the butter way back solved that problem, but cutting back on the butter made the sauce slide off the nuggets in a scorching puddle. To solve this, we turned to cornstarch—just a few teaspoons yielded a thick, glazy sauce that coated the nuggets without undoing their crunch.
Before You Begin
In step 3, the fried chicken pieces can be held in a 200-degree oven for 30 minutes before being tossed with the sauce. A relatively mild cayenne pepper-based hot sauce, like Frank’s, is essential; avoid hotter sauces like Tabasco. If desired, serve with our Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing.
Instructions
- MARINATE Combine chicken, buttermilk, and salt in large zipper-lock bag and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Combine hot sauce, water, sugar, butter, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- COAT Whisk egg whites in shallow dish until foamy. Stir flour, baking soda, remaining cornstarch, and 6 tablespoons hot sauce mixture in second shallow dish until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Toss half of chicken with egg whites until well coated, then dredge chicken in cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken to plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
- FRY Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half of chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.
- TOSS Warm remaining hot sauce mixture over medium-low heat until simmering. Combine chicken and hot sauce mixture in large bowl and toss to coat. Serve.
- MAKE AHEAD This dish freezes beautifully. In step 3, fry each batch of chicken until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool chicken on paper towel-lined plate, then transfer to freezer. Once chicken is completely frozen (this should take about 2 hours), transfer it to zipper-lock bag and freeze for up to 1 month. (Freeze the sauce separately in an airtight container for up to 1 month.) When ready to serve, heat 4 cups oil to 350 degrees and fry the chicken in 2 batches until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Reheat sauce in microwave or in saucepan over medium-low heat until warm. Toss chicken with sauce as directed. Serve.
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