Popeye’s Spicy Fried Chicken

Name: Popeye's Spicy Fried Chicken
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 5 pounds whole fryer chicken (cut up into 8 pieces skin on); 1 cup Louisiana chipotle sauce (or hot sauce); 2 tablespoons annatto Oil; ½ tablespoons Coleman's Dry Mustard Powder; ½ tablespoon Garlic Powder; ½ tablespoon Cayenne pepper (add more to make spicy); ½ tablespoon Cumin; ½ tablespoon White pepper (add more to make spicy); 1 teaspoon Celery Salt; 3 cups All-purpose flour (sifted); 1 teaspoon Baking soda (sifted); 3 large Eggs lightly beat; ¼ tablespoon Cayenne pepper; Soybean Oil (fill fryer the remaining ½); ½ quart whole buttermilk- full fat (to marinate the chicken); 2 tablespoons Kosher salt; 1 tablespoon dried dill; ½ tablespoon Onion powder; ½ tablespoon Turmeric; ½ tablespoon Paprika; ½ tablespoon Accent (MSG); ½ tablespoon Kosher salt; 1 teaspoon Sugar; ½ cup Cornstarch (sifted); ½ Spice mixture from the above list (sifted); 3 tablespoons Water; Beef Tallow (fill fryer or kettle ½ way)

^{Popeye’s Spicy Chicken is perfectly seasoned in several spices and super crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside}

Popeye's Spicy Fried Chicken

Recipe by RecipeWikkiDifficulty: Medium

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

818

kcal

^{Popeye's Spicy Chicken is perfectly seasoned in several spices and super crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside}

Ingredients

5 pounds whole fryer chicken (cut up into 8 pieces skin on)
1 cup Louisiana chipotle sauce (or hot sauce)
2 tablespoons annatto Oil
½ tablespoons Coleman's Dry Mustard Powder
½ tablespoon Garlic Powder
½ tablespoon Cayenne pepper (add more to make spicy)
½ tablespoon Cumin
½ tablespoon White pepper (add more to make spicy)
1 teaspoon Celery Salt
3 cups All-purpose flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon Baking soda (sifted)
3 large Eggs lightly beat
¼ tablespoon Cayenne pepper
Soybean Oil (fill fryer the remaining ½)
½ quart whole buttermilk- full fat (to marinate the chicken)
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon dried dill
½ tablespoon Onion powder
½ tablespoon Turmeric
½ tablespoon Paprika
½ tablespoon Accent (MSG)
½ tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
½ cup Cornstarch (sifted)
½ Spice mixture from the above list (sifted)
3 tablespoons Water
Beef Tallow (fill fryer or kettle ½ way)

Directions

In a large plastic bowl with a tight-fitting lid, combine buttermilk, Tabasco sauce, Annatto Oil, dried dillweed, and kosher salt with a small whisk. Add the cut-up pieces of a whole chicken to the large plastic bowl making sure to submerge the chicken in the mixture completely. Refrigerate overnight or 8 hours for the best results. Pour off the chicken marinade, shake off excess buttermilk mixture from the chicken. Do not rinse the chicken.
In a small bowl, combine all the spices. Use ½ of seasoning to generously season both sides of the cut-up whole chicken. Then reserve ½ seasoning for the dredge mixture below. If you prefer a spicier fried chicken add more cayenne pepper and white pepper to the seasoning.
Combine all-purpose flour, ½ of a cup of cornstarch, one teaspoon of baking soda, and the rest of the spice mixture from above, then sift all ingredients for the Dredge. Then place the flour mixture into a significant paper, add the brine seasoned chicken to the paper sack Roll the top of the bag down to close tightly, and shake gently to coat the brined chicken. Remove the chicken from the paper sack, then shake off the excess batter. Reserve until ready.
In a medium glass dish, combine the eggs and water. Dunk each piece of the coated chicken into the egg mixture and then shake off the excess egg mixture. Place chicken back into the paper sack and then shake gently to coat the chicken.
Remove the chicken from the paper sack and place it on a non-stick baking sheet. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to dry the batter. Trust me; the batter becomes so much more crispy after doing this.
Before frying the chicken, be sure to let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before adding to the oil as it will drop the temperature of the oil if not.
Add the oil mixture of 1 part beef tallow and 1 part soybean oil to a preheated cast-iron kettle. Bring the oil mixture to 340° before adding the battered chicken. If need be you can sub the oils listed with another frying oil of your choice. Reduce oil temp if needed.
Next, add the chicken to a cast-iron kettle and cook the chicken until golden brown. Be sure to the chicken is completely covered with oil. Do not overcrowd the cast-iron kettle if need be make in batches. The meat's internal temperature; the temperature should read 165° degrees when done.
Place the fried chicken on bakers rack to drain excess oil; be sure to place a metal baking sheet under it or paper towels while removing the excess oil off of the chicken.
Serve while still warm.