Copycat Popeyes Spicy Fried Chicken Recipes

POPEYES FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Take a large bowl. Stir buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of hot sauce (Tabasco) in the bowl.
• Marinate chicken in buttermilk mixture. Cover and refrigerate it overnight.
• Now, take a medium bowl and whisk together eggs, water and 1 tablespoon hot sauce.
• Take another large bowl and stir together flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
• To fry the chicken, take a large Dutch oven and pour oil to a depth of 2 1/2 inches.
• Heat the oil to 325°F and remove the chicken from buttermilk.
• Dip those chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then dredge in the flour mixture.
• Shake off the excess flour and repeat the above step 7 once again (dipping chicken in flour and dredging in flour mixture).
• Fry 4 pieces at a time for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Soak excess oil on paper towels.

POPEYES BONAFIDE SPICY CHICKEN (COPYCAT)

Steps:

• RINSE chicken pieces and blot; PLACE chicken into a 9 x 13 baking dish; COAT chicken well with contents of one 6-ounce bottle original Louisiana Hot Sauce, rubbing sauce well into skin of chicken.
• MEASURE the all of the SEASONING ingredients into a resealable plastic container; SEAL container and shake well to blend; FUNNEL mixture into an empty, clean salt shaker; SPRINKLE the SEASONING evenly and generously on every side of marinated chicken; RUB mixture well into chicken; ALLOW chicken to marinate in seasoning for at least 2 hours, refrigerated and sealed.
• BEAT 6 large eggs in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon fine salt, 1 teaspoon fine sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon Accent seasoning; WHISK mixture in bowl vigorously until smooth.
• ADD 3 cups all-purpose flour into a medium bowl for the DREDGING.
• PLACE a cooling rack over a baking sheet and set aside.
• REMOVE chicken from the marinating dish using tong; (1) DIP chicken into the BATTER until evenly coated; (2) COAT the chicken well in the DREDGING flour; PLACE chicken onto the rack over baking sheet.
• REPEAT steps with remaining chicken pieces until all are battered and breaded (NOTE: IF THE FLOUR DREDGING BECOMES CLUMPY, SIFT IT THROUGH A SIEVE TO REMOVE CLUMPS BEFORE CONTINUING); ALLOW breaded chicken to rest at least 15 minutes to absorb the breading.
• ADD the manufacturer's recommended amount of deep-frying fat for deep-frying (100% beef tallow shortening or 70% Crisco Shortening with 30% Crisco Butter-Flavor Shortening); PLACE deep-fryer basket into place in deep-fryer; PREHEAT fryer to 315°F (or preheat enough fat to immerse chicken completely in deep heavy stovetop pot between 315°F, using a standard deep-fryer thermometer to gauge).
• CAREFULLY lower each piece breaded chicken one at a time, into the deep-fryer basket without crowding (if a standard size home fryer is used, add no more than 2-3 pieces at a time); (if stovetop frying, gently place breaded chicken pieces into hot oil using tongs, turning once halfway through frying duration); FRY for 10 minutes; RAISE frying temperature to 375°F ; CONTINUE frying at the higher temperature for 5 minutes (return frying oil temperature to 315°F for each new batch).
• BLOT chicken lightly to drain; TRANSFER rack over a baking sheet and keep chicken warmed in a preheated 170°F oven until serving; SERVE and enjoy!

COPYCAT POPEYE'S SPICY FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large plastic bowl with a tight-fitting lid, combine buttermilk, Tabasco sauce, Annatto Oil, dried dillweed, and kosher salt with a small whisk. Add the cut-up pieces of a whole chicken to the large plastic bowl making sure to submerge the chicken in the mixture completely. Refrigerate overnight or 8 hours for the best results. Pour off the chicken marinade, shake off excess buttermilk mixture from the chicken. Do not rinse the chicken.
• In a small bowl, combine all the spices. Use ½ of seasoning to generously season both sides of the cut-up whole chicken. Then reserve ½ seasoning for the dredge mixture below. If you prefer a spicier fried chicken add more cayenne pepper and white pepper to the seasoning.
• Combine all-purpose flour, ½ of a cup of cornstarch, one teaspoon of baking soda, and the rest of the spice mixture from above, then sift all ingredients for the Dredge. Then place the flour mixture into a significant paper, add the brine seasoned chicken to the paper sack Roll the top of the bag down to close tightly, and shake gently to coat the brined chicken. Remove the chicken from the paper sack, then shake off the excess batter. Reserve until ready.
• In a medium glass dish, combine the eggs, cayenne pepper, and water. Dunk each piece of the coated chicken into the egg mixture and shake off the excess egg mixture. Place chicken back into the paper sack and then shake gently to coat the chicken.
• Remove the chicken from the paper sack and place it on a non-stick baking sheet. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to dry the batter. Trust me; the batter becomes so much more crispy after doing this.
• Before frying the chicken, be sure to let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before adding to the oil as it will drop the temperature of the oil if not.
• Add the oil mixture of 1 part beef tallow and 1 part soybean oil to a preheated cast-iron kettle. Bring the oil mixture to 340° before adding the battered chicken. If need be you can sub the oils listed with another frying oil of your choice. Reduce oil temp if needed.
• Next, add the chicken to a cast-iron kettle and cook the chicken until golden brown. Be sure to the chicken is completely covered with oil. Do not overcrowd the cast-iron kettle if need be make in batches. The meat's internal temperature; the temperature should read 165° degrees when done.
• Place the fried chicken on bakers rack to drain excess oil; be sure to place a metal baking sheet under it or paper towels while removing the excess oil off of the chicken.
• Serve while still warm