Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Burger is a make ahead fried chicken sandwich built from buttermilk brined chicken legs, a seasoned flour dredge and black pepper mayo. So it fries golden then finishes in the oven, which makes it an easy copycat for game day, a summer cookout or a weeknight dinner.
The one thing that decides this burger is knowing when to pull the chicken out of the oil. So you only fry until the crust turns golden, then the oven finishes the inside, since chicken fried through in oil comes out too dark.
This version skips the breast fillet and uses whole boneless chicken legs, which stay juicy through a long marinade and a hot oven. And the Colby cheese goes under the hot chicken so it melts on contact, while the shredded purple cabbage sits on top for crunch.
Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Burger
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes35
minutes860
kcalBoneless chicken legs soak in a herbed buttermilk marinade, get dredged in seasoned flour, fry to a craggy shell and finish in a hot oven. Then they stack onto a warm bun with a peppery blender mayonnaise, romaine and cabbage.
Ingredients
8 boneless chicken leg portions (uncut, usually sold skin on)
8 burger buns
2 cups romaine lettuce (or iceberg if unavailable)
1½ cups shredded fresh purple cabbage
Sunflower or canola oil for frying, as needed
8 natural New Zealand Colby cheese slices
- To Marinate the Chicken:
2 cups fresh buttermilk
3 tsp fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp tarragon
¼ tsp dried parsley
Small pinch sage, if available
2 tsp Tabasco sauce (or other hot sauce)
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp salt
- For Dredging the Chicken:
For Dredging the Chicken:
½ tsp black pepper powder
½ tsp (just over) salt
- For the Black Pepper Mayonnaise:
1 cup salad oil (240 ml, pre-measured)
1 large pasteurized egg
¾ to 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
½ tsp black pepper powder
¼ tsp salt
Few drops lemon juice
¼ tsp suga
Directions
- Trim the chicken:Remove the skin from the boneless leg portions, then cut away the darkened bulges of meat, since they do not taste good fried.
- Square them off:Snip off any excess yellow fat and trim the sides into neat squarish pieces, while cutting the white tendons from the edges and corners. Keep each portion in one piece.
- Rinse and dry:Rinse the trimmed pieces once, then drain them or pat them dry. Cleaned weight comes to about 1¼ kg.
- Mix the marinade:Put the chicken in a large bowl and pour in buttermilk to cover, then add the garlic, thyme, tarragon, parsley, sage, Tabasco, black pepper and salt.
- Work it in:Rub the marinade into the chicken with your hands, then prick the flesh in several places with a fork so it penetrates better.
- Chill:Cover and refrigerate, then make the black pepper mayonnaise while the chicken sits.
- Start the mayonnaise:Add the egg to a dry immersion blender container along with the vinegar, salt, pepper and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the measured oil.
- Blend it thick:Blend on high until the mixture thickens and lightens, then pour in the rest of the oil in a very thin stream while lifting and lowering the stick.
- Finish the mayo:Blend in 1 tablespoon of cool water to remove any oily finish, then stir in the sugar and lemon juice and chill it, since it thickens further as it cools.
- Prep the vegetables:Shred the purple cabbage and chop the lettuce, then rinse and spin them dry and set them aside.
- Heat oil and oven:Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking and heat the oven to 425°F (218°C), while you bring sunflower oil up slowly to medium heat in a deep, wide pan.
- Dredge:Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a wide bowl, then coat each marinated piece completely and set it on a wire rack or parchment lined tray.
- Par fry:Fry one or two pieces at a time on medium, turning a couple of times until evenly golden brown. Do not fry them through, since the oven finishes the job.
- Bake:Move the pieces to a parchment lined tray, then bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes.
- Build the burger:Warm the buns in the oven and slice them open, then spread mayonnaise on the bottom, add lettuce and a Colby slice, and set the hot chicken straight on the cheese.
- Finish and serve:Add the shredded purple cabbage, spread more mayonnaise on the top bun, then press down lightly and serve hot
FAQs
Can I just use chicken breast?
You can, and plenty of people will. But leg meat has more fat in it, so it survives the fry and the bake without drying out. Breast needs you watching the clock, since it goes from juicy to chalky fast.
Do I really have to trim the chicken that much?
I skipped it once and regretted it, because those dark bulges taste strange after frying. The white tendons matter too, since they shrink in the heat and curl the whole piece out of shape. It takes ten minutes and it is worth it.
My mayonnaise came out runny. What did I do?
You poured the oil too fast, which is the only way this one fails. Keep the blender running on high and add the oil in a thin steady stream, while you move the stick up and down. The spoon of cool water at the end helps, and the fridge firms it up more.
Does the egg have to be pasteurized?
Yes, because nothing in this sauce gets cooked and the egg goes in raw. A pasteurized egg blends up exactly the same, so there is no reason to skip it.
What if I cannot find Colby cheese?
Any mild melting cheese will do the job, though Colby melts so well here that it is worth hunting for. Same with the lettuce: iceberg works, but romaine holds its crunch better under hot chicken.
