Wing-Style Chicken Thigh Bites & Next Day Chicken Salad

  • Snack
  • Cooking Time: 35 minutes
  • Serves: 8
  • Difficulty: Medium
When entertaining for a big game, I have the tendency to make a huge spread that leads to lots of leftovers. Having a simple plan for extra food helps combat waste and makes your next day easy and exciting.

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs boneless skin-on chicken thighs
  • Morton Coarse Sea Salt
  • 2 quarts canola oil
  • Brine (recipe below)
  • Dredge (recipe below)
  • Wing sauce (recipe below)

MORTON®
COARSE SEA SALT

  1. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil to 375 degrees F – oil should be at least 6 inches deep in the pot.

  2. Cut chicken lengthwise into ½ inch thick strips. Skin may come loose but do not discard – just mix in with sliced chicken thighs, it fries into yummy crispy pieces for the thigh bites or the chicken salad for the next day.

  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together brine ingredients. Submerge chicken into brine and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

  4. While chicken brines, whisk together all dredge ingredients in a large bowl, smashing any clumps of powdered sugar to ensure there is an even, consistent mix.

  5. Drain and discard used brine.Immediately after brining, dredge the chicken in small batches so it doesn’t clump together, tossing off excess flour. Make sure chicken is fully coated but not caked.

  6. In small batches, flash fry (high heat for a short amount of time) at 375 degrees F for 1 minute, until light golden brown. While chicken fries, use tongs to keep pieces from clumping together.

  7. Remove fried chicken from oil and place on a paper towel to cool to room temperature. Store in a refrigerator until ready for final fry.

  8. For final fry, it will be a quick fry for 3 minutes since the chicken is already partially cooked. Fry until medium golden brown in color and crispy.

  9. Remove from oil, place in large bowl and season with Morton Sea Salt.

  10. In a small bowl, whisk together all wing sauce ingredients.
    Toss wing sauce into large bowl with chicken and serve immediately.

  11. Any excess chicken can be fully fried but not sauced and used for chicken salad the next day (see recipe below).

For Brine

  • 3/4 cup tamari soy sauce
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons hot sauce 

For Dredge  

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Morton Season-All Seasoned Salt

For Wing Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce
  • 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon Morton Coarse Sea Salt 

Next Day Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups leftover fried chicken, chopped into pieces
  • ½ cup Mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons leftover wing sauce Enjoy over a salad with crunchy lettuce, tomatoes and crackers!

Toss ingredients together in a bowl to create a tasty chicken salad for an upcoming meal. For example, combine with these ingredients and leftovers you might already have in the house:

  • Make a sandwich with the chicken salad topped with shredded cabbage, leftover roasted veggies and herbs!
  • Enjoy over a salad with crunchy lettuce, tomatoes and crackers!