Ranch Fried Chicken

RANCH FRIED CHICKEN

 Chicken

8 (5- to 7-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

Salt and pepper

2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil

  For the buttermilk coating, I blended in the herbs in with a stick blender and marinated the thighs for about 10 minutes while getting everything else ready.  I found about 6 minutes in the oil was enough time for frying.  Charlie suggested adding some powdered Ranch to the coating but they were already cooking when he did.  Maybe next time. This one is a keeper.

Buttermilk Mixture

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons minced fresh dill

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

Coating

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 C. cornstarch

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¾ teaspoon pepper

Ranch Sauce  (  I used Marzetti bottled Ranch dressing) If the ready made sauce it too thick, to make it thinner sauce, whisk in a little lemon juice or milk. 

1/2 cup mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. reserved buttermilk mixtire

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more for this recipe.

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE CHICKEN: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

FOR THE BUTTERMILK MIXTURE: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup buttermilk mixture for ranch sauce.

FOR THE COATING: Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl.

Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Set second wire rack in rimmed baking sheet lined with three layers of paper towels.

Working with 1 piece at a time, dip chicken in remaining buttermilk mixture to coat, letting excess drip back into the bowl , then dredge in coating, pressing to adhere.  Transfer chicken to wire wrack without paper towels. If desired, chicken my be refrigerated up to 2 hours.

Heat 6 qt. Dutch oven with 2 qts. veg or peanut oil to 350º and fry 7 to 9 minutes. (I found 6-6 1/2 minutes to be sufficient) Cook 3 pieces at a time, remove to rack with paper towels to drain while cooking the next batch.

For the Ranch sauce, mix the reserved butter mixture with the mayo. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Transfer to platter and serve with ranch sauce.