Fried Chicken Mac and Cheese is the glorious result of combining two of American history’s most popular Soul Food dishes.
Between the crunchy, juicy chicken and the gooey mac and cheese, this savory dish guarantees to leave your mouth watering.
We took two of everyone’s favorite comfort foods, fried chicken tenders and mac and cheese, made a homemade roux, fired up the Traeger, and blew everyone away with this INSANE Smoked Fried Chicken Buffalo Mac and Cheese!
Ingredients for Honey Glaze:
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
Instructions for Honey Glaze:
Whisk honey, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes in a bowl.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Pour honey mixture into skillet and continue to cook until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes more.
Ingredients for Spicy Fried Chicken:
1 (1.35kg) whole chicken, cut into pieces
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1-liter buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
375g plain flour
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garlic granules
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1-liter vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions for Spicy Fried Chicken:
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place them in a deep-sided baking dish.
Whisk together the buttermilk, hot pepper sauce, and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the chicken, stir to coat all sides of the chicken pieces, and cover the dish with cling film. Refrigerate for about 2 hours to marinate.
Remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk mixture and shake off excess. Discard the remaining buttermilk mixture.
Place the flour, 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper, garlic granules, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste in a large plastic resealable bag; shake well to mix. Place 2 or 3 pieces of chicken at a time into the bag and shake well to coat the chicken pieces with seasoned flour.
Heat oil in a deep fat fryer or large saucepan to 180 degrees C. Gently place chicken pieces into the hot oil and fry until chicken is cooked through and golden brown, 8-10 minutes (breasts and wings) or 13 to 15 minutes (thighs and drumsticks). Drain the fried chicken on kitchen towels.
If you’d like me to drop that Buttermilk Mac & Cheese recipe, please let me know in the comments below! 👇 Your feedback is always cherished and helps me bring you the content you love. Happy cooking, everyone! 🍽️💕