Chicken Biscuits Sliders

So far the common thread of 2015 has been biscuits. I actually think I’ve made more biscuits in 2015 already than I did in all of 2014. I’ve been churning them out, dude. It all started with the biscuit-palooza that was Dan’s birthday weekend with our college friends. A few weeks later for Dan’s birthday party I decided I wanted to make one-bite fried chicken biscuits (self five there). Then this past weekend, for my mom’s going away party (she’ll be spending the next year in South East Asia and the South Pacific) my brother Reid and I made country ham biscuit sliders. I’m on a roll (a biscuit?) and I have no complaints.

These chicken biscuit sliders were a huge hit, a delicious combination of fried chicken bites, buttery and flakey biscuits, dill pickle slices, and a sweet and spicy jalapeño honey. They’ll be back on the menu before too long.

Chicken Biscuit Sliders
makes 24 sliders

fried chicken

8 chicken thighs, skin on & boneless

2 cups buttermilk

2 1/2 tbsps red pepper flakes

2 1/2 tbsps cayenne pepper

2 tbsps salt

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 cup breadcrumbs

2 cups flour

1/2 cup stone ground yellow grits

4 eggs

1 tbsp apple cider vingear

Peanut oil for frying

biscuits:

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsps salt

2 sticks butter

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 stick melted butter for topping

Honey for biscuits

3 large dill pickles

The night before you’d like to make these sliders cube your chicken into 24 bite size pieces. Combine in a bag with buttermilk, 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp cayenne, and 1 tbsp salt. Refrigerate overnight.

Set out three bowls for yourself and heat the oil in a skillet or a deep fryer. Oil should be 350-375F. In the first bowl combine 1 cup of flour with the garlic powder. In the second bowl whisk together your eggs with the apple cider vinegar. In the third bowl combine the remaining flour, bread crumbs, grits, and spices. Once your oil is hot take your chicken, two or three pieces at a time, from the buttermilk and shake excess buttermilk off. Dredge in flour mixture, then in eggs, and then in flour and breadcrumb. Make sure the chicken is completely coated in the third mixture and then drop into the oil. Fry for 3-5 minutes, turning as necessary, until golden brown and crisp. Transfer onto a rack to cool. Repeat until all of your chicken is fried.

Heat oven to 400F. Mix together dry ingredients. Cube butter and work in with your hands, breaking the butter up into small pieces and mixing in with the dry ingredients, until the texture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the buttermilk. Transfer to a floured surface and press into a rectangle. Fold on itself and pat into a rectangle. Repeat three or four times, finishing with a large rectangle of dough that is 1″ thick. Use a small biscuit cutter to cut into 1″ rounds or slice with a knife into 1″ squares. Place on a baking sheet and brush the top of each biscuit with melted butter. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. and baked through.

While your biscuits are baking, slice the pickles. Halve biscuits and smear generously with honey. Place a fried chicken bite and a pickle slice on each biscuit and serve hot.