Popcorn Chicken Recipe
A fun lunch, snack or dinner time meal, this Popcorn Chicken Recipe is always a hit. With the perfect amount of seasoning, they are a fun hand-held treat that goes great with all your favorite dipping sauces.
Servings: 4
Calories: 527kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the dredge:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons hot sauce
- Peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl add the cut-up chicken, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together making sure to coat the chicken in the spices.
- To make the dredge, in another medium-sized bowl, add the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, stir to combine.
- In a third bowl, add the egg, buttermilk, and hot sauce and whisk together to combine.
- Add the seasoned chicken into the flour mixture and toss to coat, making sure to shake off any excess, then place them into the egg mixture, stirring to coat the chicken pieces.
- Take handfuls of the coated chicken and place them back into the flour mixture, making sure to press the flour mixture around the pieces of chicken to coat well, then shake off the excess.
- Place the coated chicken pieces onto the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Add about 2 inches of peanut oil into a dutch oven or heavy bottom skillet over medium heat.
- Allow the oil to reach 325-350 degrees F. Carefully drop the coated chicken pieces into the hot oil making sure to not overcrowd the pan, you will need to fry in batches.
- Stir the chicken around with a slotted spoon, this helps that they don’t stick to each other or burn. Once the chicken has reached 165 degrees F and is golden brown (roughly 5 minutes) they are done, remove the pieces with the slotted spoon and place them onto a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
- Then place the chicken pieces onto a wire rack placed over a baking sheet, this helps to avoid them from getting soggy.
- Repeat with the remaining chicken and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- You can easily double this batch if you'd like.
- This goes great with any of your favorite dipping sauces, see some suggestions above.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Buttermilk can be substituted for regular milk, however the texture may not be the same. I highly suggest using buttermilk at all costs.
- You can make your own homemade buttermilk for this recipe, see above on how to do that.
- Make sure to reheat in the oven so that these do not become soggy.
- The hot sauce does not make this recipe spicy, but if you are not a fan of hot sauce then you can omit it.
Nutrition
Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 153mg | Sodium: 2033mg | Potassium: 799mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 413IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 4mg