Fried Chicken Biscuits with Hot Honey Butter

• FOR THE FRIED CHICKEN:
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika

Vegetable oil, as needed, for frying

• FOR THE HOT HONEY BUTTER:
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce of choice, I use Crystal hot sauce
• FOR SERVING:
• 4 Buttermilk biscuits, split in half lengthwise and warmed

Bread and butter pickles, as needed

FOR THE FRIED CHICKEN:

1. Add the buttermilk and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add the chicken thighs and submerge in the buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
2. When ready to fry, add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, cayenne and paprika to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Fill a large, heavy bottomed cast iron pan or Dutch oven with enough vegetable oil to reach 1” up the pan. Heat the oil to 350ºF.
4. Working one piece at a time, remove chicken from marinade and dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off excess flour.
5. Fry in the oil until the chicken is golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Remove the fried chicken from the oil and place on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet or a paper towel lined plate to drain the excess oil.
6. FOR THE HOT HONEY BUTTER:
7. Add the butter, honey and hot sauce to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk until completely combined and smooth. If you don’t have a mixer you can beat the ingredients together by hand.
8. FOR SERVING:
9. Add a chicken thigh to each biscuit and top with a tablespoon of the hot honey butter and pickles. Close and serve immediately.