CHA! by Texas Pete® Country Fried Chicken

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Marinate the chicken with the CHA! By Texas Pete for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Mix the flour, salt and black pepper together until fully incorporated and divide this flour mixture between 2 large, 1 gallon zip lock bags.
4. After 24 hours remove the chicken from the marinade but do not scrape any of the marinade off of the chicken.
5. Divide all the chicken up evenly between both bags of seasoned flour and shake vigorously for 1-2 minutes coating all of the chicken completely.
6. Preheat the deep fryer to 325° F. If pan frying make sure you pour enough oil into the pan so that the chicken is covered at least half of the way up, about 1 1/2-2 cups of oil depending on the size skillet you have.
7. If you are pan frying the chicken turn the heat to medium and try to keep the temperature around 325° F, you may have to adjust the temperature several times during the cooking process.
8. The chicken takes roughly 20-25 minutes to cook. Keep the fryer on a low to medium setting and check the temperature consistently to maintain the oil at 325° F.
9. The key is to fry the chicken on a low temperature during the first 75% of the cooking process, then turn up the heat to crisp up the breading just before it’s finished.
10. Keep the temperature at 325° and then raise the temperature to 375 F° for the last 3-4 minutes for an extra crispy breading.
11. The chicken will become more tender the longer you cook it at the lower temperature otherwise if you cook it at a higher temperature the breading will be too dark and the meat will be tough.
12. While the chicken is frying prepare the spicy barbeque sauce.
13. Combine the barbeque sauce with the CHA! By Texas Pete and mix well.
14. Portion the sauce into 4 ramekins and keep refrigerated until ready to use.
15. When the chicken is finished place on paper towels to absorb excess grease and season them with salt and pepper. **Be sure chicken in cooked to an internal temperature of 165° F.
16. Serve with the spicy CHA! Barbeque sauce for dipping. Immediately cover and store unused chicken in refrigerator.