INGREDIENTS:
- 4 strips bacon
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups canola oil
- Derby sauce:
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ¼ cup blue cheese, room temperature, cut into small pieces
- Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl combine buttermilk, hot sauce, and chicken. Cover. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight.
- Cook bacon on FIREDISC® cooker until crisp. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Turn off the cooker.
- When the fat cools, use The Ultimate Gripping Tool and paper towels to soak up all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat. When bacon is cool enough to handle, chop it into small pieces.
- In a glass baking dish, whisk together flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Remove chicken from buttermilk. Add to seasoned flour.
- Ensure chicken pieces are coated. Remove chicken from the flour mixture and return it to buttermilk. Remove chicken from buttermilk and put it back into the seasoned flour mixture for a second coating.
- Transfer double-coated chicken to a baking sheet and reserve. Heat the canola oil FIREDISC® cooker with reserved bacon fat. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Transfer cooked chicken to a sheet pan lined with paper towels. In a medium bowl stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, and blue cheese. Stir in crumbled bacon.
- Serve chicken with the Derby Dip on the side.
