I do love fried chicken. I do hate frying chicken. Frying chicken is messy and adds a lot of fat to chicken. To get around this, a lot of us do a “fried” chicken in our ovens and smokers. I have my own version, BBQ “Fried” Chicken.
Oven chicken can make a nice crispy “fried” chicken, but can it give the thick crunchy coating you get with double dipped fried chicken? This is my attempt to find out.
I did this recipe in my Traeger Timberline and the circulating air did a great result. However, you could do the recipe on a tray over a rack in a 400 F (205 C) oven.
I started by cutting a chicken into pieces. Instead of cutting chicken into pieces you can just use chicken pieces. However, the chicken must have skin on for this to work. Most of the fat in chicken is at the skin and it helps make the great coating.
To cut the chicken, I started by cutting down both sides of the backbone and removing it. I save it for making stock. Then I put the point of a heavy knife into the joint of the drumsticks and cut them off. I cut the thighs off the body of the chicken.
I worked the point of the knife into the joint attaching the wings to the chicken and cut them off. I cut the breasts into two halves and cut across both halves to make four breast sections.
This gave me ten chicken pieces. As I said, you can just use 1.2 to 1.5 kg (2 ½ to 3 pounds) skin on chicken parts.
I mixed up a marinade of:
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 25 ml (2 tablespoons) Sriracha or Buffalo wing sauce
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) salt
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) sugar
- 1 egg
Mix the ingredients together and pour them over the chicken in a nonreactive container. Put it in the fridge for 3 hours to marinade, stirring around twice.
Mix up a coating mix of:
- 350 ml (1 ½ cup) flour
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) your favourite barbecue rub
- 6 ml (1 ¼ teaspoon) salt
- 6ml (1 ¼ teaspoon) onion powder
- 6 ml (1 ¼ teaspoon) garlic powder
For the next steps, send your wife out of the room. If she sees what a mess you are going to make you will get the hairy eyeball and a serious tongue clucking. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Make a dipping station. Put the container with the marinade on the left. Next to it, put the coating mix in a low casserole or tray. To the right of the coating mix, put a large plate or tray.
Lift a chicken piece out of the marinade with your left hand. Lay it on top of the flour in the casserole. Shovel flour over the chicken with your dry right hand to coat. Lift the chicken out of the flour with your dry right hand and put it on the plate. Repeat with each piece putting on the plate in a single layer.
Move the chicken on the plate to the left of the marinade and put another large plate to the right of the coating mix. Lift a piece of chicken with your left hand and dip it in the marinade. Put the chicken on the flour mixture with your left hand. Shovel flour over it with your dry right hand. Lift the piece out of the mixture with your dry right hand and put it on the clean plate. Repeat to give each piece the second dip and coating and put in a single layer on the clean plate.
Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes for the coating to set up.
I put the chicken, skin side up, in a 400 F (205 C) smoker for about 35 minutes. The chicken should just start to be getting some golden on the edges of the chicken.
Brush the chicken pieces with oil. Do not turn them.
Cook for 30 minutes more and start checking the chicken. When the chicken is browned as much as you like, check the internal temperature to make sure it is over 170 F (75 C) and take off the smoker (it will likely be way over 170 F (75 C)). This can take up to 40 minutes depending on the air circulation in your smoker.
Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes and serve.
I have done a video of this recipe.
The Verdict
This is incredible chicken. It isn’t just crispy, it crunches. The coating has a well seasoned taste and the chicken is tender and moist. You must try this.
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 pound chicken cut up or skin on chicken parts
- Marinade:
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 25 ml (2 tablespoons) Sriracha or Buffalo wing sauce
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) salt
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) sugar
- 1 egg
- Coating:
- 350 ml (1 ½ cup) flour
- 10 ml (2 teaspoons) your favourite barbecue rub
- 6 ml (1 ¼ teaspoon) salt
- 6 ml (1 ¼ teaspoon) onion powder
- 6 ml (1 ¼ teaspoon) garlic powder
- For Brushing:
- 75 ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil
Instructions
- Mix marinade ingredients together. Add chicken and marinate for 3 hours, stirring twice.
- Mix coating ingredients together.
- Make a dipping station. Put the container with the marinade on the left. Next to it, put the coating mix in a low casserole or tray. To the right of the coating mix, put a large plate or tray.
- Lift a chicken piece out of the marinade with your left hand. Lay it on top of the flour in the casserole. Shovel flour over the chicken with your dry right hand to coat. Lift the chicken out of the flour with your dry right hand and put it on the plate. Repeat with each piece putting on the plate in a single layer.
- Move the chicken on the plate to the left of the marinade and put another large plate to the right of the coating mix. Lift a piece of chicken with your left hand and dip it in the marinade. Put the chicken on the flour mixture with your left hand. Shovel flour over it with your dry right hand. Lift the piece out of the mixture with your dry right hand and put it on the clean plate. Repeat to give each piece the second dip and coating and put in a single layer on the clean plate.
- Put the chicken, skin side up, in a 400 F (205 C) smoker for about 35 minutes. The chicken should just start to be getting some golden on the edges of the chicken.
- Brush the chicken pieces with oil. Do not turn them. Cook for 30 minutes more and start checking the chicken. When the chicken is browned as much as you like, check the internal temperature to make sure it is over 170 F (75 C) and take off the smoker (it will likely be way over 170 F (75 C)). This can take up to 40 minutes depending on the air circulation in your smoker.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes and serve.
47 Responses
Good morning David. What a great idea! Anything to decrease the amount of extra fat in the diet during these challenging sticking around the house times.
Have you tried the recipe with buttermilk? It tends to be my go-to for fried chicken brining.
I haven’t used buttermilk in this recipe but have marinated in it before. I am sure it would work fine in this recipe. Thanks for the comment!
Any particular reason you used top rack, mine indirect?
Damn auto correct! More indirect is what I was asking.
Not so much. My Timberline has great temperature control through the racks and I put it on the upper racks just because it was convenient. However, if your smoker has a hotter more direct heat on the lower racks, higher racks might be a better idea.
Dave! This was so good! We did it yesterday for dinner. Even the husband said it was good. He doesn’t often trust me when I do something like this on our Traeger!
It is so kind of you to let me know! Tell your husband that you are taking over the Traeger!
Just made this on my Ironwood 885 and it was a home rub!! Thanks for the recipe!!
It is so kind of you to let me know! Thanks very much.
Dave, the nerd herd in Louisiana says your chicken is the BOMB! Made it on our Traeger this evening. Things we found: ours cooked a LOT faster than yours did. Our T has a 375 degree setting, and then bumps up to high/450 (it’s the Junior model we got on a deal at Costco – we want a bigger one now!). So my husband set it at 375. We thought it might take a bit longer at the lower temp, and also because I bought a pack of chicken legs for this recipe, and they were mutant huge chicken legs. Not so. He let the chicken cook for 40 minutes, and when he went to brush the oil on, he could visibly watch the chicken getting crispy as he brushed it. It was at 180 and climbing, so we called it good and took it off. Not sure if it cooked faster because our T is smaller, or if it’s hotter in Louisiana, or because of the brisk breeze, or what.
We set it up on a rack and let it drain while I was making mashed potatoes. It was crunchy and delicious! Being from Louisiana, next time we make it, I’ll ramp up the seasonings a bit – that’s how we roll, ya know. But we will definitely be making it again! The husband thinks we might ought to try turkey legs this way. Thank you for a wonderful addition to our recipe stash!
Thanks so much for letting me know. A buddy who has an older Traeger says his cooked faster too. On looking at his unit, it gives a lot more radiant heat from the bottom than my Timberline and I think that is the cause. I’d love to hear how it turns out on Turkey legs!
Lisa Henson, I should have read your comment before I tried this recipe. I bought our Traeger from QVC but I think it is pretty much the same model as yours. I wasn’t sure which temp setting to use (just like your settings) so I started with High, but dropped it back to 375 after a few minutes. It turned out delicious, but next time I will monitor it more closely and not cook it quite so crispy! Lol! But there were no complaints from my hubby, and the recipe is definitely a keeper. Happy Fourth of July from Virginia.
Try putting a roasting pan under the chicken to prevent as much direct heat.
What type of flavor pellets do you recommend. Has far as treager brand.
I really like their hickory and that is what I used on this. At higher temperatures, I find the hickory still adds some smoke flavour.
Definitely going to give this recipe a try this weekend. I’ll let you know how it turned out. I’m sure it’s going to be good. ??
I’ve been seeing people rave about this recipe and can’t wait to try it! Would canola oil work ok in place of vegetable oil?
Absolutely! Canola oil would work fine.
Hi. I was looking at different links with your fried chicken recipe. It has one where you use water, and another where you use milk. For the recipe using water, for every 1 pound of chicken, you’re using 3 cups of water. But, the recipe using milk has ingredients listed as 2 cups of milk for every 2.5-3 pounds of chicken. Was there a mistake? Also which one should I use, milk or water? Otherwise, which tastes better? And can you give me a recipe that is correct as far as the ingredients and recipe? Thanks
By different links, I assume you are talking about my other recipe, BBQ “Fried” Chicken. This is a totally different recipe that gives a totally different result from this Doulbe “D” fried chicken. Both are correct for the recipe. BBQ “Fried” Chicken uses a water brine to moisten the chicken with more water and then the brine is discarded. This recipe for Double “D” Fried chicken uses the milk mixture for not only a marinade but for an integral part of the coating in the double dip.
Both are correct for the ingredients and instructions and will give you two different but tasty results.
Dave! This was amazing!! Thanks for wonderful meal. We made it last night and loved it!
Thank you so much for the kind words!
This recipe sounds great and will try it this week. My husband has encouraged me to get tattoos on my fingers. WET for left and DRY for right since I am known to look at my hands and say “wet” “dry” several times during the process. But I rarely have the dreaded club fingers anymore.
The tatoos sound like a good idea! I hope you like the chicken!
Dave, I finally made this chicken today. I wish I had read Lisa Henson’s comments above, I think my Traeger is like hers……temp control goes from 375 to “high” which is 450. So I just kinda winged it. Started out on high, dropped to 375 after a bit. Total cook time was just a guess, I really should have taken it off the T sooner than I did. But no matter, it was still really delicious. My hubby couldn’t stop raving about it. I cooked all thighs, so they were naturally juicy. You’re right, this recipe doesn’t just get crispy, it gets downright crunchy! Thank you for a great recipe that I will continue to use! Guess I will have to see what other recipes you have out there! Happy Fourth of July!
So glad you enjoyed it! As for the fourth of July, we celebrate Canada Day on Jul 1. However, I have many American friends and always toast them on July 4!
We made the oven version tonight and it was wonderful. It really does taste and crunch like fried chicken!
I do not usually eat the skin – but the crispiness and flavour was so yummy! We used double the hot sauce. The wet & dry technique tip is brilliant – thank you for this new favourite recipe.
Thanks so much, Karen. I am glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks, Bill. It has become one of my favourites.
It should be OK, there isn’t a lot of acid in the marinade so it shouldn’t get mushy.
Made this Chicken yesterday……
Coating – great (exactly as I would have hoped
Flavour – massively lacking (really disappointing as it tasted quite bland)
Love the concept however
Sorry you didn’t like it.
My mom LOVES fried chicken but the Doc has asked she stay away from flour. Do you think I could use almond flour and get the same result as yours? I can’t wait to try this!
I don’t think almond flour would work out. You need the gluten from the flour for the crisp texture. Sorry.
My daughter can’t have flour either. I am going to try this recipe with a few using this substitute for her:
“You easily can use cornstarch instead of flour as a coating for fried chicken, fried fish, or other fried dishes. Cornstarch will create a crisper coating that will hold up to sauces better and will absorb less of the frying oil (leading to a lower-fat meal).
Here are some tips for frying with cornstarch:
Consider a 50/50-blend of cornstarch and gluten-free flour—this will
give you a coating that’s closer to wheat flour-breaded fried chicken.Make sure you have a light, even coating of cornstarch on the food you’re frying. Heavier coatings can get gummy.”
Thanks for the information!
Have you tried cup4cup gluten free flour? I use it regularly for baking and coating. You can’t tell the difference in baking and for coating it’s actually more crispy. It’s a blend of gf flours, the rice in it adds to the crispness I think.
No I haven’t tried that. Sounds interesting.
Hi david, would this recipe be able to be used on pork chops to thank you.
I would think so but I would make sure to use thicker pork chops. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Can this also be done on racks over a cookie sheet in the oven at the same temp?
Absolutely! It turns out great!
Hi Dave, I bought your book because I thought this recipe would be in it, but it’s not. Love the book anyway.
Sorry! It is in the second book I am working on!
Don’t have a Traeger but when we did we loved this chicken. Have a Weber Spirit now. Anyway we could make this on there? Maybe put chicken on indirect NO heat side?
It should work fine over indirect heat in the Weber. You will have to keep an eye on it not to overbrown it because the temperature control isn’t as accurate and you may need to rotate the chicken due to less consistent heat across the grill.