Fried Chicken Pretzel Biscuits
 
 
Author:
Serves: Serves 4
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
  • 1 cup pretzels, ground to make ½ cup pretzel crumbs (fairly fine, sandy in texture)
  • 2 cups (300g) plain flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • pinch of baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 swtick + 5 tbsp (175g) cold butter, cubed
  • ¾ cup (185ml) buttermilk
For the chicken:
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 2 cups (500ml) buttermilk
  • 4 tsp salt
  • 3 cups (450g) plain flour
  • 2 tbsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • Oil, for frying (I used Rice Bran Oil)
For the sauce:
  • ½ cup (125ml) maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • Serve with pickles, hot sauce, and beer.
Instructions
  1. Get started with the chicken - place the thighs into a bowl, and pour over the buttermilk and 2 tsp salt. Stir to combine, and then cover and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to a couple hours.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
  3. Place the ground pretzels, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, and add the cubes of cold butter. Working quickly, cut the butter into the flour (with two knives or a pastry cutter) until you have a slightly sandy mixture, still with plenty of big chunks of butter. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor, pulsing to get the right texture.
  4. Add the buttermilk all at once to mixture and stir with a wooden spoon, until the mixture looks shaggy, but is coming together. Dump out onto a floured surface, and knead and pat the dough together, just until it coalesces, and then pat out into a square, just over an inch (about 1.5 inch/3cm) thick.
  5. Cut the dough into four squares, and place onto the baking sheet. Brush with a little extra buttermilk, and press a whole pretzel into the top of each (optional). Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until dark golden brown and risen.
  6. To fry the chicken, fill a cast iron skillet just under half-full with oil, and place over a medium heat. You need to be careful, because the last thing you want is for the oil to overflow - if your skillet is small, maybe choose a dutch oven instead. Either way, you want about an inch (2cm) of oil.
  7. Stir the flour, herbs, spices and remaining salt together in a shallow dish. When the oil is hot enough that a little of the flour sizzles gently if you sprinkle it in, your're ready to fry. Take a piece of chicken, dredge it thickly in the flour and place into the oil. Repeat with a second piece and cook two at a time. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until deep golden brown and cooked through (you may want to cut one open to check, if you're not sure). Remove the chicken to a rack to drain and set.
  8. To serve, stir together the maple syrup and mustard. Split a biscuit, and place a piece of fried chicken on the bottom half. Pour over a little maple-mustard sauce, and top with the other biscuit half. Serve with pickles, hot sauce, and beer.
Recipe by The Sugar Hit at http://www.thesugarhit.com/dev/2016/02/fried-chicken-pretzel-biscuits.html