Crispy, Crunchy, Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Last updated on May 8th, 2023 at 06:28 am

If you LOVE fried chicken, but hate the mess -- this is THE chicken recipe for you!

This chicken hits literally ALL the taste notes -- it's almost impossibly crunchy, the chicken is super tender and the hot honey drizzled on top is just the right amount of spicy sweet.

And the BEST part -- you can bake the chicken in the oven, so your stove will stay nice and clean!

Inspired by Chrissy Teigen and Half Baked Harvest

Crispy, Crunchy, Sweet and Spicy Chicken

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Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN MARINADE:

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 1/2 pounds bone in, skin on chicken pieces (legs, thighs, breasts -- use them all!)

FOR THE BREAD CRUMBS:

  • 2 cups plain bread crumbs or panko
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • A small dash of cayenne pepper

HOT HONEY:

  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 2-4 tablespoons honey
  • 2-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • kosher salt

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

MARINATE THE CHICKEN:

  • In a measuring cup, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients: buttermilk, garlic, onion powder, sugar, dried herbs, salt and pepper and cayenne pepper. I like to use a measuring cup because it's much easier to pour the marinade into the ziplock bag.
  • Add all of the chicken to REALLY large freezer ziplock bag (use the freezer one's because they're heavier and you want to make sure you don't have any leaks in your fridge), and pour in the marinade. Carefully, press out any air, seal the bag, rub the bag to get the marinade as evenly dispersed over the chicken as you can.
  • Then place in a pyrex dish or bowl, and store in your fridge for at least 1 hour, but the flavor will be so much better if you let it marinate overnight.
  • You can also marinate the chicken in a large bowl, instead of a ziplock bag.

MAKE THE BREAD CRUMBS:

  • In either a shallow bowl, or large ziplock bag, combine all the bread crumb ingredients: bread crumbs (or panko), flour, paprika, sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne.
  • You can make the bread crumbs a day ahead and store them in the ziplock bag.

TO MAKE THE CHICKEN:

  • Remove chicken from fridge, and taking chicken one piece at a time, carefully remove from marinade, gently shake off extra marinade and place in bread crumb mixture.
  • Close the bag, give it a shake and press on the bag so the bread crumbs stick to the chicken.
  • Remove coated chicken from the bag and place, skin side down in a large, lightly oiled, glass baking dish.
  • Don't skip oiling the dish because you want that amazing breading staying on the chicken, and NOT getting stuck to the dish.
  • Keep going, one piece of chicken at a time, until all the chicken is coated and skin side down in the baking dish.
  • Why skin side down? Because this gets the chicken cooking, and then you'll flip it to get the super crunchy skin.
  • Bake for 25 -30 minutes, then remove baking dish, use a spatula to carefully flip over the chicken, and continue baking until the chicken is gorgeous and golden, about another 20-25 minutes.
  • When the chicken is cooked, remove from oven, drizzle with hot honey (or serve the hot honey on the side).
  • Watch it disappear in seconds!

HOT HONEY:

  • While the chicken is baking, add all the hot honey ingredients to a small pan, and melt. If you like your hot honey on the spicier side, start with 2 tablespoons of honey. If you just want a tiny touch of spice, start with 3 tablespoons of honey and 1 teaspoon of cayenne. Keep tasting until it's the level of spice that tastes good to you.
Have you made this recipe?I'd love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

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