Name: Gluten-Free Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 400 min
Ingredients: 12 pieces chicken (wings, drumsticks, thigh-bone-in); 300 g store-bought or homemade gluten-free breadcrumbs; 500 ml buttermilk; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp white pepper; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; ½ tsp dried rosemary; ½ tsp dried oregano; ½ tsp dried thyme; ½ tsp dried sage; 500 g cornflour (Known as cornflour in the UK and corn or maize starch in the USA); 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; ½ tsp onion powder; ½ tsp garlic powder; ½ tsp white pepper; 1 litre sunflower oil

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Gluten-Free Buttermilk Fried Chicken – a perfect street food indulgence!

Wherever you travel to in the world, each country has their own version of fried chicken; from super spicy to extra crunchy, but very few offer a gluten-free coating when sold as street food or in restaurants. This recipe will give you authentic, crispy fried chicken without leaving your home.

So, where did fried chicken originate from?

Yes, you guessed it…Scotland! Basically, the Scottish immigrants who lived in the southern parts of the U.S. had a tradition of deep-frying chicken. They would share this technique with African slaves who would later – as cooks – introduce it to many southern American homes. Thankfully, they introduced spices and herbs to liven up the flavour and there you have it, it became a popular staple snack/meal in the U.S. since the 1700s.

KFC Fried Chicken

Eventually, Colonel Saunders (the KFC founder) perfected the KFC crust and mastered the pressure frying technique; cooking the chicken in half the time it normally takes – qualifying it as fast food.

Some important steps for the perfect fried chicken:

Brining the chicken in the buttermilk

Soaking the chicken pieces in buttermilk and the seasoned spice mixture for at least 6 hours acts as a brine that tenderises, keeps the meat juicy, enhances the flavour and allows the breadcrumbs to stick well to the chicken.

Crumbing the chicken correctly

Follow the four dipping steps religiously to crumb the chicken pieces successfully:

FIRST STEP: Buttermilk mixture
SECOND STEP: Crumbing mixture
THIRD STEP: Buttermilk mixture again. Double-dipping the chicken in the buttermilk mixture gives it that extra crispiness.
FOURTH STEP: Gluten-Free breadcrumbs mixture

Frying it at the right temperature

If you have a food thermometer, use it to test your cooking oil for the ideal deep-frying temperature of 170°C/325°F. Otherwise, test the oil using a bread cube; if it fries golden within 30 seconds, the oil is ready for frying.

Keeping the chicken crispy

Most fried foods are normally drained on paper towels once the frying is complete, but a good tip is to drain them directly on a wire mesh with a tray underneath. They really do stay much crispier as any excess oil drips away instead of the paper towels smothering the chicken and making the crust soggy.