This sandwich is engineered for maximum impact. Each element is awesome, but it’s the way they come together that puts it over the top. Mmmmm, yeah. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.
Ingredients
Makes 4 Servings
Chicken
1
1
1
4
Seasoned Mayonnaise
1
2
½
2
½
½
Assembly
1½
⅓
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
3
4
3
4
Special Equipment
Preparation
Chicken
Step 1
Mix salt, sugar, and baking powder in a small bowl. Season chicken all over with salt mixture (you won’t need all of it). Chill uncovered on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
Seasoned Mayonnaise
Step 2
Combine garlic and lemon juice in a medium bowl; let sit 10 minutes. Mix in mayonnaise, chives, celery seeds, and pepper; season with salt.
Assembly
Step 3
Whisk flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, and 2 Tbsp. salt in a medium bowl. Whisk egg, buttermilk, bourbon (if using), and 3 Tbsp. hot sauce in another medium bowl. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge chicken in flour mixture, turning to coat and packing into crevices. Shake to remove excess; return to rack. Pour 3 Tbsp. buttermilk mixture into flour mixture and work in with your fingers. Dip chicken into remaining buttermilk mixture, allow excess to drip off, then pack moistened flour mixture firmly onto chicken. Gently shake off excess; return to rack. Chill at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
Step 4
Pour oil into a large heavy pot fitted with thermometer to come halfway up sides. Heat over medium-high until thermometer registers 350°. Working in 2 batches, fry chicken, turning often and adjusting heat to maintain temperature, until deep golden brown, 5–8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a wire rack set over paper towels to drain.
Step 5
Heat a dry large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium. Brush cut sides of buns with butter and, working in batches, cook, cut side down, until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes per batch.
Step 6
Mix 1 Tbsp. pickle brine into 2 Tbsp. seasoned mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Add lettuce, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread some seasoned mayonnaise over cut sides of buns. Build sandwiches with pickles, fried chicken, slaw, and more hot sauce, if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
How would you rate BA's Best Fried Chicken Sandwich?
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Reviews (55)
Back to Topfor god's sakes people, this is bon appetit. do you really need it explained to you that you add salt TOO TASTE. if you think something is too salty, it's your fault for not tasting it as you go as you would with ANY RECIPE ON EARTH.
itsratso
4/2/2024
I made this recipe and added less salt than prescribed and still found the final product to be quite salty. Other then that this was a great recipe. I fried the chicken in an air fryer instead of in oil and it worked really well.
Alex V
Winnipeg, Manitoba
2/24/2022
Lesson learned: never ignore the comments. Oh man it was like a chickeny ocean in my mouth... guys. This salt needs to halved *at least* but, key point, it wasn't the meat, it was the breading. So the real salt death came via the combo of dredge and buttermilk mixture--halve the salt in both zones and you'll have perfect chicken. Fair warning: the double dredging is super weird and messy to accomplish, but doable, and stretches significantly beyond a mere 4 thighs (we did a full 12 since they were small and it was *still* that salty, folks).
Seattle
seattle, wa
12/13/2021
Made this for my husbands family, wasn't sure how the adults would feel a about fried food but everyone loved it. I was quite stingy with the salt especially after reading the other reviews. Everyone absolutely LOVED it!
C Forman
New York City
4/24/2021
Recipe overall was good, but hella salty! So much that I couldn't finish my sandwich. 2 Tbls in the flour is way too much. I had potato chips with this meal and they were far less salty than the chicken. Disappointing after all this work. Next time I would use at least half the amount of salt overall. Also, in order to reach 165° at 350°, your chicken ends up coming out almost burnt. I want my chicken golden brown. So maybe the person saying finish in the oven is on to something. Definitely not "the best" chicken sandwich I've had.
Angela Skrade
Minneapolis, MN
2/2/2021
I think I’m going to replace the franks hot sauce with some gojujang and kimchi juice and then make a kimchi mayo to spread on it... will also use less salt as mentioned by reviews and maybe add a little more brown sugar for that tang!
Kelsey K
Fort Worth Texas
12/18/2020
Straightforward recipe. The chicken was perfectly cooked - crispy outside and the interior was fully cooked, but still moist. My only issue is that it tasted SO SALTY. I'm not sure if it's because I used the wrong type of salt or if there's something about the combination of cayenne and salt that upsets my tongue. But this would have been perfect if I liked the flavor of the skin more.
Anonymous
San Francisco
10/30/2020
@ JACQUELINEP21, I would use the Tobasco sauce if I couldn’t get Frank’s. Different but workable.
Anonymous
Cincinnati
5/14/2020
This is THE best chicken sandwich. I've started making it for parties in large quantities by halfing the chicken thighs and making a slider version. And use the variation that was printed in the mag - Slaw of cabbage, red onion, sliced jalapeño and bread & butter pickles chopped with pickle brine as the dressing. Plus the hot chicken dredge -- use a cup of hot chicken oil mixed with cayenne, dark brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder and paprika. Takes it to the next level!
kellie kalvig
Seattle, WA
5/6/2020
Claire Saffitz, you've done it again! My partner is working on Covid-19 lab testing here in sunny Northern Ireland and I wanted a Friday night indulgence to make everything better. I gotta say, this recipe is phenomenal. The spread is so well balanced and the hot sauce in the buttermilk mixture was inspired. One of my favourite recipes I've ever made, this will be my go to fried chicken sandwich from now on. Thanks Claire and Alex for helping make my night during these strange times.
PastryChefMakesGourmetUsername
Northern Ireland
4/24/2020
Very juicy, tender fried chicken sandwich!My husband and I live together, and we made 4 friend chicken pieces, but there are only two of us. So we reheated another night and these are even killer when reheated. Highly recommend!!!
Katelic
Arizona
4/13/2020
Honestly this sandwich was AMAZING. Such a good blend of flavors. I don't like pickles but they were good on this. Will absolutely make again.
Anonymous
Lexington, KY
4/7/2020
Best fried chicken recipe ever! Crunchy and moist, packed with a ton of flavor. I used chicken thighs. Also the the mayonnaise sauce was delicious 🤤 I didn’t have chive on hand so I used scallion. Still very tasty. I dipped my french fries in this delicious mayonnaise sauce. I recommend this recipe and it’s a keeper. Will be making this again real soon 😃
jessicaol
Brooklyn, NY
4/4/2020
This recipe needs a bit more direction. First, specifying the size of the chicken thighs. Frying a 3-4oz chicken thigh for 5 to 8 minutes at 350F oil would work. For anything bigger than that, you would need to finish them in the oven. Bake your fried pieces for 15-20 minutes in the oven also set to 350F. Just keep in mind when cooking that the inner temperature of your chicken pieces must reach 165F.
Anonymous
3/25/2020
Wow what an amazing fried chicken recipe! My husband is amazed! I used breasts instead of thighs and the result was still really juicy.
lebcamie
Montréal
3/23/2020