Homemade Popcorn Chicken
This easy-to-make recipe is all you need to make tasty popcorn chicken at home.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 5-6 cups vegetable oil for frying
Marinade
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2-3 dashes of hot sauce
Coating
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk and hot sauce.
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the buttermilk, tossing to coat.
- Allow chicken to marinate for 30 minutes
- While chicken is marinading, mix together all the ingredients for the coating in a large bowl.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, scraping it against the side of the bowl to remove some of the marinade.
- Drop the chicken into the coating and shake to coat. *See notes.
- Place the oil in a large pot and heat over medium heat to 350℉.
- Drop 6-8 pieces of chicken in the heated oil. Don't overcrowd the pot.
- Fry the chicken for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove chicken with a spider strainer and place on a paper towel-lined tray or rack to cool slightly before serving.
- Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
- Serve warm with dipping sauces.
Notes
To coat the chicken, I like to use a large cookie sheet. I place half the coating on the bottom of the sheet, spreading it out to cover the entire sheet. Then place the pieces of chicken on top of the coating. Then sprinkle the remaining coating over the top of the pieces, turning any that need for coating.