How to Make Firecracker Fried Chicken for the 4th of July

Forget hamburgers and hotdogs, firecracker fried chicken is the latest 4th of July food to hit picnic tables and block parties. With this meal, you’ll get a kick in flavor and be able to enjoy it while watching the fireworks and festivities.

Ingredients:

Fresh Chicken (amount varies based on how many people you are serving)
Hot Sauce
Flour
Japanese Panko Bread Crumbs
Cayenne pepper
Pepper
Garlic salt
Eggs
Cooking oil

Notes on Ingredients:

Chicken: Amounts will vary, this is not an exact science. Most people want to use chicken drumsticks from the butcher as the main ingredient in this recipe. It’s really up to you, but I like to use boneless-skinless chicken breasts whenever I make fried chicken. If you can’t get skinless chicken, remove the skin prior to cooking. Sometimes I will cut the chicken on the side and through the entire breast making two large (almost full) sized pieces. This recipe, however, might work really well as nuggets, so I would cut the chicken into medium-small chunks.

Japanese Panko Bread Crumbs: Ever since I started using these Japanese bread crumbs in my fried chicken, I have been so successful and am proud every time I bring my chicken to the table. They give the chicken an amazing, crunchy quality and a taste that is hard to find from the premade breaded chicken in the grocery store.

Step 1: Marinate the Chicken

Place whatever cut of chicken you like into a large resealable plastic bag; add a liberal amount of hot sauce. Use whatever kind of hot sauce you want and make sure there is enough in the bag so that all of the chicken touches the marinade. Probably around half a cup would be a sufficient amount of hot sauce, but don’t be shy if you want to dump the whole bottle in. Once you have added the hot sauce, try to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible, this will help the marinade cover more of the surface area of the chicken.

The greater the amount of time you allow the chicken to marinate, the spicier it will become. At least an hour is a good amount of time if you do not have a lot of time to wait.

Step 2: Breading the Chicken

I like to dip my chicken into a raw egg prior to putting it into the breading. It helps the breading stick to the chicken before put in the oven.

To prepare the breading, I dump a large amount of the Panko bread crumbs into a shallow dish, add some flour cayenne pepper, garlic salt and pepper. I don’t get too specific about measuring the amounts, but the results are always good.

Dip the chicken into the egg with one hand, place it into the shallow dish, and make sure the chicken is fully coated by moving the breading around with the other hand. Continuing with the second hand, place the chicken onto some wax paper or a wire rack to set for a few minutes. This will keep the breading from getting wet and your fingers from being fully coated with bread crumbs and flour.

Amazing Discovery: Double Breading!

After the chicken has set for a few minutes, repeat the process of breading the chicken. This will make for a much thicker crunchy crust. Allow the chicken to once again set for a few minutes prior to cooking.

Step 3: Frying the Chicken

Place the chicken carefully into a deep pan with oil (I like to use a canola blend) over medium heat. Cooking time will vary based on size of the chicken pieces. Fully cooked chicken will have an internal temperature of around 160 degrees.   

Pair this meal with potatoes or macaroni and cheese, and you’ll have a hit that will leave your family coming back for seconds!