Copycat Chick-fil-A Chicken

Is it Sunday or do you just want to make it yourself? Well it is my pleasure to give you this recipe, which is the result of making the same mistakes that almost everyone makes, which is using someone's Copy of a Copy of an idea of a Good Recipe. I discovered a source that states (big surprise!) that Chick-fil-A does not use pickle juice to brine their chicken, which arrives at the restaurants already brined. Almost every recipe I had seen before (MANY) said to brine it in pickle juice. Is that because their sandwiches include two hamburger dill pickles? No idea. I have followed two different recipes and brined in pickle juice and it wasn't bad, but wasn't right for this and other reasons. I also could tell the breading wasn't the same. My reliable source (confirmed elsewhere) explains a couple other problems with the all-over-the-internet recipes out there and I am going to accept the differences as gospel. The emphasis here is on brining, breading, and to some extent frying. What you do with the chicken, be it making strips or sandwiches is up to you. You can brine quite a lot of chicken and vaccum seal it, freezing for later use if you're more prepared than I am.

For the chicken, use boneless skinless breasts. Slice them in half to make thinner, cut into appropriate sizes, and unless making nuggets, pound them out to be even thinner. The amount of brine and breading listed below is enough for 2 large breasts or 3 smaller ones, so if you want to make more simply double everything. Can you use boneless skinless thighs instead? Yes, you can, but we are trying to duplicate the Chick-fil-A magic here.

Brine:

• 4 1/4 cups water

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp coarse Kosher salt

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 TBSP MSG

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp mustard powder

• pinch ground black pepper

Mix the brine thoroughly and pour into two 1-gallon freezer bags. Add chicken pieces to bags and refrigerate for 5-6 hours. Meanwhile, prepare the breading.

Seasoned coating:

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 TBSP plus 2 tsp granulated sugar

• 2 TBSP plus 2 tsp powdered nonfat milk

• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

• 2 tsp MSG

• 1/2 tsp mustard powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 2 pinches cayenne pepper

Mix and sift the coating through a sifter or strainer.

Milk wash:

• 1 cup milk (Chick-fil-A uses skim milk but whole milk is OK too)

• 2 large eggs whisked in

For the oil, you can use peanut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil. Peanut oil is what Chick-fil-A uses, but some people have allergies to peanuts. Heat about 2 1/2 inches of oil in a 6-7 quart dutch oven to 325 degrees F. Use a baking thermometer to recheck temperature and adjust heat while frying.

For each chicken piece:

• Dredge in milk wash

• Press VERY firmly into the seasoned coating, flip over, press again. Ensure that every bit of the chicken is coated.

• Place on a rack or tray (ready to fry)

Frying:

1. Very carefully lay a piece of chicken in the oil, avoiding any possibilty of a splash, and fry 2 pieces at a time for 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

2. Remove from oil using a spider and set on wire rack.

3. Repeat for the remaining pieces.