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Blueberry Brined Fried Chicken
Fried chicken makes professional and novice cooks alike very passionate. This brined fried chicken recipe creates an intensely flavored, moist, and tender chicken that will have all diners stashing the recipe in their recipe boxes!
Prep Time: 20 minutes 
Brine Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Yields: 5 pounds
Ingredients
Blueberry Brined Fried Chicken:
- 5 pounds (about 10 thighs), preferably bone-less chicken thighs
- 1 ¼ cup blueberry pickle juice, or substitute dill pickle juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup Spicy Berry Hot Sauce, recipe linked, or substitute hot sauce
- 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
For Serving:
- Spicy Berry Hot Sauce, recipe linked
- Pickled Blueberries, recipe linked
Directions
Brine the Chicken: Warm the Pickled Blueberry juice on the stovetop or in the microwave. Then stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Pour the pickle juice brine into a large zip bag. Add the chicken pieces. Zip the bag closed. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Meanwhile, line two large baking sheets with cooling racks and set aside. Preheat the oven to 250℉.
Once the chicken has brined, set out two shallow rectangular casserole dishes. In the first casserole dish, whisk the flour, cornstarch, and creole seasoning together. Pour the buttermilk and hot sauce in the second casserole dish and whisk together.
Drain the brine off the chicken. Set out a metal cooling rack set over a baking sheet. One at a time, dunk the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then back in the flour mixture. Place the breaded chicken pieces back on the rack.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan on the stovetop. Pour enough of the vegetable oil into the pot to fill it about two-thirds full. Turn the heat on medium to medium-high. Using a thermometer to monitor cooking temperature, heat the oil to 350℉, and carefully place four pieces of chicken in the vegetable oil. Use tongs to carefully move the chicken so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot while cooking. Fry for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown and interior temperature, is 165℉.
Use the tongs to carefully pull the chicken pieces from the hot oil and place them on the clean rack. Place the fried chicken in the preheated oven to keep warm and crisp.
Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Place the second batch of fried chicken in the oven. Turn off the heat.
When ready to serve the chicken, remove the rack from the oven and serve with Spicy Berry Hot Sauce and Pickled Blueberries, and/or create a delicious Berry Hot Chicken and Waffle recipe, recipes are linked.
