This is a KFC popcorn chicken copycat recipe.
Its downright addictive I challenge you to stop at just one!
Surprisingly quick, they take just 2 minutes to cook, and just shallow fried at that.
Nigel fromH Squared, my builders, trying the Popcorn Chicken. Just to clarify, no flowery language came from him! 😂
I wont repeat what they actually said when they tried it.
The flavour is a copycat of KFC popcorn chicken, with its distinct seasoning.
But there is one big standout difference this homemade popcorn chicken is actually crispy.
Nigel fromH Squared, my builders, trying the Popcorn Chicken. Just to clarify, no flowery language came from him! 😂
Its rather soft and quite greasy.
Much easier thandeep frying whole chicken pieces!
The coating is especially formulated so the chicken cooks up really crispy no soggy popcorn chicken around here!
Chicken I like to use breast because its easy to cut into small cubes.
Tenderloin is also easy to cut into small even pieces.
Buttermilk is the traditional liquid of choice used for marinating inSouthern Fried Chicken.
Popcorn chicken is first marinated…
Find italongside milk at the grocery store, usually in small 600ml cartons ($2.75).
Substitutes you might use yogurt mixed with milk, or make your own buttermilk with milk and vinegar.
Both these substitutes work just as well, I tried them both!
…then tossed in a seasoned coating
they dont taste nutty.
Egghelps the flour stick to the chicken.
Salt To season the flesh of the chicken.
The Seasoningis a KFC copycat.
Well, it is quite crispy straight out of the fryer but it loses crispiness quickly.
Cornflour, on the other hand, fries upreallycrispy but it doesnt go a nice golden colour.
And if you coat things too thickly in cornflour it becomes too hard and gets stuck in your teeth.
Coating and cooking them one-by-one would be a pain!
1.Preparation
Cutthe chicken into small 1.25cm / 1/2 cubes.
Popcorn chicken just needs to be shallow fried because they are small pieces.
Whisk marinade Put the buttermilk marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Mix breading Mix the flour, cornflour and 11 secret herbs and spices in a bowl.
The wider the better easier to scatter pieces across the surface and toss to coat.
Also see Ingredients section above for comment on crumbing v breading.
Because its being raised!
Scoop up3 tablespoons of the marinade out of the chicken bowl.
(This is for the extra-crispy trick).
Dribblethis marinade across the surface of the flour mixture.
Mix / rubthe marinade through the flour so you get lots of little clumps of flour.
These become extra crispy bits on the chicken, its so good!
Excellent crispy chicken trick picked upKenjis Fried Chicken recipe on Serious Eats.
Scatterthe chicken across the surface of the flour bowl.
Spreadthe chicken on a tray.
Repeat with remaining chicken.
AND VOILA!Did you notice how your hands arent caked with sticky thick flour batter!?
Shallow frying Because the pieces of chicken are so small, we dont need much oil.
Just 2.5cm / 1 depth in whatever cooking vessel you are using.
Hands If youre a confident cook, feel free to use your hands but be careful of oil splash-age.
Lowerthe chicken into oil pre-heated to 180C/350F using the scooper.
Fry 2 minutes Then cook the chicken for 2 2 1/2 minutes until the surface is crispy and golden.
Agitate the chicken halfway through the cook time and separate any sticking together.
Scoop When the chicken is done, scoop it out.
Spread Then spread it out on a paper towel lined tray, to absorb excess oil.
Use what you want ketchup, BBQ, sweet and sour, sweet chilli.
you might pretty much use any dipping sauce for it!
Or, serve it likemovie popcornin paper cups or popcorn boxes, if youre feeling extra fun!
use leftover marinade and flour to cook up some little lightly steamed cauliflower florets.
It looksjustlike the chicken.
What a way to sneak vegetables into the kids, eh??
A popcorn box filled with a mix of popcorn chicken and popcorn cauliflower!!
Nagi x
Popcorn chicken extra tips & FAQ
Development woes?
Wasnt too bad actually!
To be honest, Ive been dabbling with this recipe for a while.
I just never committed to finalising it to make it shareable.
The flavouring and cooking technique is based on my existingKFC Fried Chickencopycat recipe.
Trying to coat them individually is not viable!!
Think grab and shovel in your mouth by the handful!
The other alterations were about scale.
Cooking large bone-in, skin-on pieces of chicken is very different to cooking lots of little cubes.
So there was a lot of tweaking to get the balance right of flavour v quantities.
Compared to some other recipes, it was very low effort testing and development time.
And I was never short of people wanting to take the leftovers!!!
Prevent screen from sleeping
In this recipe, the key substitution option offered is for buttermilk.
Buttermilk is a slightly sour milk that is the leftover liquid after churning milk to make butter.
It is slightly thicker than regular milk but thinner than pouring cream.
Its an ingredient used in baking for its ability to add moistness into things like cakes and muffins.
For baking recipes, sometimes I dont recommend using substitutions because the end result is somewhat compromised.
I tried this recipe with both these options and it was exactly the same as using buttermilk.
Can this be air fried or cooked in the oven?
So again, this supports the argument for cutting them larger for the air fryer.
Who wants to turn 80 pieces of chicken??
How long will leftovers last?
Does it reheat well?
3 to 4 days in the fridge, though the chicken is not as juicy as freshly made.
I dont recommend freezing, I think the meat will dry out too much.
In which case, you wont need to use the oven as the chicken will stay warm enough.
Watch how to make it
And watchmemake it!
Popcorn chicken better than KFC!
My right paw is!
Its a routine to address side effects of hislaryngeal paralysis conditionwhich he was diagnosed with earlier this year.
), hes in remarkably great condition and still able to enjoy romping at the beach.
Im so grateful hes ok!
Proof of beach romping:
Screenshot
