Fried Chicken Biscuits With Hot Honey Butter

This recipe for chicken biscuits could be a weeknight dinner with a side of greens, but it’s made to travel, and perfectly suited for a picnic. Prepare both components the day you want to eat them, giving yourself at least one extra hour for everything to cool before you assemble, so the sandwich stays crisp. You can also cook well in advance, and assemble the sandwiches the following day. Either way, cooling the chicken completely, on a wire rack, is crucial. If you prefer breast meat over thigh, feel free to swap it in.

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

  • 3cups/450 grams all-purpose flour
  • 3tablespoons/37 grams baking powder
  • 1tablespoon sugar
  • 1 ½teaspoons kosher salt
  • 7tablespoons/100 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 ½cups/360 milliliters whole milk

For the chicken:

  • 6boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • ¾cup/113 grams all-purpose flour
  • 2teaspoons cayenne
  • 2teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
  • 3eggs
  • 3cups/270 grams panko bread crumbs
  • Canola or other neutral oil, for frying

For the butter:

  • 10tablespoons/142 grams unsalted butter, softened
  • 3tablespoons honey
  • Hot sauce, a vinegary variety such as Crystal, to taste
  • Sliced dill pickles, for serving

Preparation

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, pour in oil to a 2-inch depth and heat to 350 degrees. Fry two 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.
  8. Assemble the sandwiches: When both the chicken and biscuits have cooled (or the following 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.

Dining and Cooking