‘Southern Fried’ Chicken Goujons

These Southern Fried Chicken Goujons are a big hit in my home. I like them as I find chicken quite boring and like to have the crunch of the coating with plenty of mild spices to boost flavour.

I called it ‘Southern Fried’ as I have committed two sins while making this recipe: I have breadcrumbed the chicken and I used chicken breasts. Traditionally thighs and drumsticks are used. If you do use these cuts you can allow them to marinade for longer in the buttermilk, overnight preferably. I have made these with thighs and I would recommend removing the skins as it doesn’t crisp up under the batter. Felicity Cloake says the same in her Perfect column and Felicity knows her stuff! I love her column by the way, you should take a look.

I love the crunch of panko breadcrumbs so I will always use these where possible. If you prefer, you can just use flour but double coat the chicken in it so that you get a good batter and crunch. These goujons cook beautifully from frozen so while you are making them you might as well double the batch, cook them all and freeze half. Simply reheat them from frozen in a preheated oven at 180c/160c fan/gas mark 4 for 25-30 minutes and you will still have a gorgeously crispy coating and tender chicken inside.

For an alternative flavour, I often make these cutlets as goujons too. There is also a great recipe here on Gastrogays blog for Fried Chicken.

Makes approx 12-16 large goujons, serves 2 as a main meal or more as light meal or finger food

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken fillets, skin removed and sliced length ways into strips.
• 250ml of buttermilk
• 1 tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• 100g of plain flour
• 1 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of fresh black pepper
• ½ tsp of smoked paprika
• ½ tsp of onion powder
• ½ tsp of garlic powder
• ½ tsp of cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp of celery salt
• ½ tsp of dried thyme or oregano
• ¼ tsp of mustard powder
• 1 large egg beaten
• 150g of panko or regular breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil

Method:

• The chicken needs time to marinade in the buttermilk so allow for this. It will make your chicken extra tender. If you are stuck 30 minutes will do but I like to marinade for a few hours. I wouldn’t go over night with strips of chicken breast as they may break down too much.
• Use a plastic ziploc bag, whisk together the buttermilk and Worcestershire sauce. Put the sliced chicken into the bag with the buttermilk and place in the fridge for a couple of hours.
• When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the buttermilk and shake off any excess liquid. Discard the marinade.
• Heat a deep fryer or pour about 3cm of oil into a large frying pan and heat until it reaches approx 170c or until some breadcrumbs dropped in sizzle.
• In a bowl mix together the flour, salt, herbs and spices. Put the beaten egg in another bowl and the breadcrumbs in a third. Dip the chicken into the spiced flour. Make sure they get a good thick coating of the spiced flour. Then dip into the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Repeat with all of the chicken.
• Drop a few of the goujons at a time into the hot oil. Don’t crowd the pan or the temperature of the oil will drop too much and the breadcrumbs will become soggy instead of crispy. When the chicken is nicely golden underneath carefully turn them. When golden all over, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper. If you are making a lot of chicken, put the cooked goujons into a preheated low oven to keep warm while you cook the remainder.
• Serve with a simple side salad and mayonnaise or slaw. If you are feeling indulgent some chips wouldn’t go astray!