Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Barbecue Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce is the only fried chicken recipe you will ever need.  The secret to success with this recipe is a soak in a seasoned buttermilk brine to make it tender and flavorful, a quick fry in a little oil to get the breading golden and crispy, and a short bake in the oven to finish cooking the chicken through to perfection.  And don’t forget about the Creamy Mashed Potatoes!

Here’s how it’s done!

The Marinade

Start by putting some buttermilk and spices inside a gallon sized ziplock bag.

To the mixture, add 2 pounds of chicken tenders.

Smush it around until the spices are mixed and the chicken is well coated.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or up to overnight.  Make sure the baggie is well sealed before putting it in your refrigerator.  No one wants to clean raw chicken out of their fridge.  I always put the marinating chicken inside a bowl or on a plate, just to be safe.  The chicken is going to get so tender and flavorful in the overnight soak!

Frying Chicken

To bread the chicken, place some flour and seasonings inside large, shallow bowl – like this 9″ pie pan.

Mix it well and drizzle in 3 tablespoons of buttermilk.

This will create a nice texture on your fried chicken.  You’re going to have to trust me on this one! Mix in the buttermilk.

Remove the chicken tenders from the marinade and press into the flour mixture, making sure the breading adheres well to the surface.  You will need to do this in a few batches.

Place breaded chicken tenders on a platter while the oil comes to temperature.

Heat about an inch of oil to 375 and place about half of the breaded tenders inside the oil – careful not to crowd the pan. Flip the chicken after about 30 seconds of cooking, so that both sides are cooked evenly.  At this point don’t worry about cooking the chicken through, just get the coating the color you’re looking for and remove.  Place on a baking sheet, lined with a ovenproof cooling rack.  If you don’t have a cooling rack, just place the chicken directly on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken tenders.  And be super careful, hot oil can burn you!

See how the chicken looks perfectly cooked and crispy?  The inside is not quite up to temperature yet.  This chicken was only cooked to about 110 F and it needs to reach 165 F to be safe to eat.  I just popped this baking sheet in a 375 F oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking through. This gave me enought time to finish mashing the potatoes and to get my kids to set the table – perfect!

I’ve found if I cook chicken to 165 in oil, the breading often gets overcooked while the inside comes up to temperature.  And by the time I am frying my second and third batch of chicken, the oil has so much much residue from the other batches, the chicken burns even faster.  So this is my foolproof way around the problem, there’s no going back!

See how tender and juicy the inside of the chicken is, while the outside is crispy and golden! This method works like magic!

Barbecue Honey Mustard Sauce

If you’re a fan of the Chick fil A “Special Sauce,” you’re really going to like this Barbecue Honey Mustard!

Just mix some mayo, mustard, a favorite barbecue sauce, honey, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper together.  Easy!

Mix together and chill in the fridge for several hours before serving.

I think you’re going to love this dinner!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Barbecue Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Chicken Marinade:

2 pounds chicken tenderloins
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoons table salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Chicken Breading**:

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons buttermilk

For Cooking:

Vegetable oil, for frying chicken

Directions

To Marinate the Chicken:

Place all of the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock baggie, add chicken, and smush it around until well combined. Seal and place in a bowl (in case of leakage) and refrigerate several hours, or overnight.

To Bread the Chicken:

Combine the breading ingredients in a large, flat, bowl (like a 9” pie pan). Whisk in 3 tablespoons of buttermilk, stir with a fork until the mixture is clumpy.

Remove the chicken tenders from the marinade and coat in the flour mixture. I like to press the chicken into the mixture so it adheres to the chicken.

Place breaded chicken on a large baking sheet or platter while the oil comes to temperature.

To Fry the Chicken:

Preheat about an inch of vegetable or peanut oil in a heavy pan (I do not like to use canola oil, because it can taste fishy when heated to high temps for deep frying). Preheat to 375 F.

Place breaded chicken tenders into preheated oil. Cook until golden brown. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack (if possible). See picture above. Place in a preheated 375 F oven until the temperature of the chicken reaches 165.

This method of starting the chicken in a quick fry on the stovetop and finishing in the oven helps eliminate the risk of burning the breading on the chicken before the meat is cooked through. It’s foolproof.

Serve immediately with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and your favorite dipping sauces.

*I adapted this recipe from a recipe featured on Once Upon a Chef.  I basically kept the seasonings exactly the same, but changed the method of cooking.  Her recipes are so good, definitely check them out if you haven’t before!

**I had a friend make these tenders for his gluten-free son.  He substituted the flour out for 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour, 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup tapioca flour and said it turned out really well!

Barbecue Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional
Pinch of cayenne, optional

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate a few hours before serving.