Buffalo Chicken Bites

I taught Emma to make scrambled eggs this week. She's nine, which is the age I decided is old enough for supervised stove access, based on no science and entirely on the fact that Marlene taught me at nine and I survived. The lesson went like this: "Butter in the pan. Low heat. Eggs in. Stir slowly. Don't walk away." Emma walked away. The eggs stuck. We started over. By the third attempt, she had it — soft curds, not rubber, cooked low and slow, the way eggs should be cooked and the way most restaurants don't cook them.

She was proud. She plated the eggs like she was on a cooking show and presented them to Kevin at the table with a "Voilà!" that she learned from a YouTube video. Kevin ate them and said they were perfect. They were not perfect. They were slightly overcooked and under-salted. But they were made by a nine-year-old who is learning what I learned from Marlene, which is that cooking is an act of care and care is a thing you practice until it's permanent.

Jack's corn is six feet tall. It's tasseling. The tassels appeared Tuesday morning and Jack ran into the kitchen to tell me like the house was on fire. "Mom! The tassels!" For non-farm people: tassels are the male flowers at the top of a corn plant, and their appearance means the corn is pollinating, which means ears are forming, which means in a few weeks there will be actual corn to eat. Actual Bodacious sweet corn from Jack's backyard. From seed that Dad sent. From a variety that Dad grew on four hundred acres. Now growing on four rows in Des Moines. I'm not going to cry about tassels. I'm absolutely going to cry about tassels.

I made fried chicken for Sunday dinner. Buttermilk-brined thighs and drumsticks, dredged in seasoned flour, fried in two inches of oil in Marlene's cast iron. The secret to fried chicken is the brine — four hours minimum in buttermilk, salt, and a little hot sauce. The buttermilk tenderizes the meat and the salt seasons it all the way through. You fry at 350 degrees for fourteen minutes and you don't crowd the pan. Two pieces at a time. Patience. The same patience that grows corn and raises kids and tolerates husbands who don't fix gutters for eighteen months.

Kevin fixed the gutter last week. I'm still celebrating. Fried chicken is a celebration meal. Everything is connected.

The fried chicken was the main event on Sunday, but these buffalo chicken bites are the version I make when I want that same crispy, buttermilk-brined magic in a form the kids can grab with their hands. Emma dips hers in ranch. Jack eats his plain and pretends he’s too tough for sauce. Kevin eats nine of them and calls it “sampling.” They’re celebration food, just like the fried chicken — smaller portions, same love, same cast iron.

Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 2 hours brining) | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 inches in the pan)
1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
Ranch or blue cheese dressing, for serving
Celery sticks, for serving

Instructions

Brine the chicken. In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Prepare the dredge. In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, paprika, onion powder, and black pepper.
Dredge the chicken. Remove chicken from the buttermilk one piece at a time, letting excess drip off. Toss in the seasoned flour, pressing to coat all sides. Place on a wire rack and let rest 10 minutes so the coating sets.
Heat the oil. Pour about 2 inches of vegetable oil into a heavy skillet or Dutch oven. Heat to 350 degrees F. Use a thermometer — guessing leads to greasy chicken.
Fry in batches. Working in small batches so you don’t crowd the pan, fry the chicken pieces for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through (internal temperature of 165 degrees F). Transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan.
Make the buffalo sauce. While the chicken fries, whisk together the hot sauce, melted butter, and honey in a large bowl.
Toss and serve. Add the fried chicken bites to the buffalo sauce and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery sticks on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Buffalo Chicken Bites — Because Every Sunday Deserves a Little Celebration