Bourbon Brined Fried Chicken Recipes

HONEY-BRINED FRIED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Mix cold water, kosher salt, and honey in a large bowl; stir until salt dissolves. Add chicken breasts, and weigh them down with a plate to keep them completely submerged. Cover entire bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove bowl from refrigerator; drain and dry chicken. Pour buttermilk over chicken in a large bowl. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Combine flour, black pepper, garlic salt, onion salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
• Coat each chicken breast in flour mixture until well covered on all sides; place flour-coated chicken breasts on a cooling rack to dry for 15 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook chicken breasts until browned and no longer pink in the center, about 10 to 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Transfer chicken to a cooling rack; allow to cool for 5 minutes.

BOURBON-BRINED CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make the brine: in a large nonreactive bowl combine the bourbon, salt, brown sugar, lemon slices, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and 4 cups water; whisk until salt and brown sugar dissolve.
• Trim any sinews or excess fat off the breasts; rinse breasts under cold running water, then drain.
• Place the chicken breasts in a large zip-lock plastic bag; add in the brine.
• Let breasts brine in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, turning breasts twice so they brine evenly.
• Set up grill for direct grilling and preheat to high-if using a gas grill, place all the wood chips in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and run grill on high until you see smoke; if using a charcoal grill, preheat it to high, then toss all of the wood chips on the coals.
• When ready to grill, drain the brine off the chicken and blot the breasts dry with paper towels; discard brine.
• Lightly brush both sides of the breasts with the melted butter; brush and oil the grill grate, then arrange chicken breasts on the hot grate, placing them on a diagonal to the bars.
• Grill the breasts for 2 minutes, then rotate them a quarter turn to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks.
• Continue grilling the breasts on that side for 2 minutes longer.
• Turn breasts over and grill until cooked through, 4-6 minutes longer, again rotating them after 2 minutes to create grill marks.
• **The total cooking time will be 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts.
• Test for doneness-poke a breast in the thickest part with your finger; it should feel firm to the touch; or to be safe, you can insert a thermometer in one end-170° is done.
• Transfer grilled breasts to a platter and serve at once with your favorite barbecue sauce.