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Yield: 6 servings
These Buffalo Chicken Bites, are REAL crispy on the outside, and moist and tender on the inside. The crispiness is a by-product of using a Corn Meal Batter Mix, and the moist interior is thanks to using Chicken Thigh Meat. I'm sure you'll LOVE the contrast of textures.
I'm sure that a lot of people have had buffalo bites, either in a bar, or in one of the fast food places. Little did you know, that, more often than not, these Buffalo Bites are white meat chicken. Now they may even call them Buffalo wing bites, or wing bites. They're still whit meat chicken. Chicken wings are dark meat, that's why they're so moist.
I bought some boneless, skinless chicken thighs the other day, and thought that I'd use them a couple of different ways. I turned the first third into a great spaghetti sauce, and this batch went into these Buffalo bites. The last third was used to make Chicken Salad.
I haven't fried anything with a Corn Meal Breading in a while so I thought it would be a great idea to use it in this recipe. Corn Meal adds an extra bit of crispiness to the outside of these Buffalo Bites, and limits the amount of oil that they'll absorb during cooking.
Flour contains Gluten (alias protein) which can absorb oil during the frying process. mixing the flour with Corn Meal (no protein) means that the coating won't absorb much of the oil. I never had to add any oil to the frying pan while I was cooking these, and the drain pan, had very little oil in it. So, thanks to my wanting the extra crunch in these Buffalo Bites, I had the added benefit of a healthier frying method, if you can believe that.
One of the biggest problems in frying anything is to keep the oil at the right temperature, so that the outside of whatever you're frying gets nice and crisp and the interior is cooked, but remains moist. The best way to insure that this is your result, is to not crowd the pan, and to make sure your Buffalo Chicken Bites aren't too thick.
I almost forgot! The first day, I had them in a Chicken Poor Boy Sandwich, and they were real good. Then I'm watching football on Sunday, and realize that I had leftovers in the frig. What goes better than fried Buffalo Chicken Bites, Sam Adams Boston Lager, and Football. I had an open bottle of my Ghost Cheddar Wing Sauce, and went for it.
I had the first 3, and they were real good, a little on the Spicy side, but good. That's when the heat REALLY KICKED IN ! The heat just kept building, and building, until my eyes were tearing, my nose was running, and it actually burned even to take a breath. The Beer was a help, but not by much, and I ended up with ice cream. Just a couple of spoonfuls, and the heat had subsided.
4 Large, Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, about 1 1/2 pounds
1. Begin by prepping the Chicken:
- Trim off most of the fat. There isn't much, but it won't have a chance to melt away during cooking.
- Cut the Chicken into bight sized pieces, about 1".
- Set them into a bowl as you get them cut up.
2. Set up the Breading:
First Batter:
Mix this up and place it into bowl.
Second Breading:
Mix this up and place it into bowl.
Egg Mixture:
Whisk the eggs, then add the Milk and Blacken, and whisk again.
I set the bowls going counter clockwise for breading the Chicken:
1 - Dredge in the 1st Breading, shake off any excess.
2 - Dip the Chicken into the Egg Mixture.
3 - Drain off any excess, and coat the Chicken in the 2nd batter.
3. Place the breaded Buffalo Bites onto a sheet pan.
The Buffalo Bites are now ready for frying.
Ron's Note:
The thickness of the Egg Mixture is the discerning factor in how thick the breading will be. A thicker Egg Mixture (less milk), and the breading will be thicker. A thinner Egg Mixture (more milk), and the breading will end up thinner.
4. Heat about 3/8" oil in a straight sided frying pan. I like using my black frying pan, because it's thickness will distribute the heat more evenly.
When the oil is about 375, just barely beginning to smoke, place the chicken into the pan, being careful not to splatter the oil, or you'll have a fire. Don't crowd them or they'll bring the temperature of the oil down too much, and won't cook evenly.
Cook 4 - 5 minutes per side, then take one out, cut it open, and make sure it's done. Set the cooked Buffalo Bites on a rack in a pan to drain, and salt them immediately.
Ron's Note:
Total Cooking time will vary, based on the heat of the oil, thickness of the Chicken, and how much oil you've used. Too little oil, and the Chicken won't be deep enough, and the oil will go down in temperature when you add the chicken.
5. Place the drained wings onto a plate, or a bowl because they're now ready to coat with Wing Sauce.
6. I used my Ghost Cheddar Wing sauce to coat my Buffalo Chicken Bites. Just add the sauce, and toss to coat well.
7. Another way to serve these would be as a New Orleans Style Poor Boy Sandwich. Lettuce, Tomato, Buffalo Chicken Bites, and a Spicy Remoulade make for a tasty sandwich.
This recipe prints as a shortened version, with only 1 Picture, Ingredients, and Directions.
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This recipe prints as a shortened version, with only 1 Picture, Ingredients, and Directions.
Store Leftovers in a plastic Bag in the refrigerator. They'll keep for 3 to 4 days this way.
To re-heat these Buffalo Chicken Bites, just place them in an oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. They'll be almost as good as the first day you made them.
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By Cap'n Ron
