Buttermilk & Mustard Brined Pretzel Fried Chicken Bites

Written by Published on in recipes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (could also use breasts)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon ground mustard (powder, like Colman’s)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
freshly ground black pepper
6 large sourdough hard pretzels (I used these)

Directions:

NOTE: THIS MUST BE DONE THE DAY BEFORE COOKING

Cut the thighs in half or bite-sized pieces. Place in a resealable bag. Add the buttermilk, mustard powder, pepper, and granulated garlic squish the bag around to evenly distribute all ingredients. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day:
Heat 1/2 inch canola oil in a large, heavy pan.

Break the pretzels into small pieces. Place in a food processor to pulse into crumbs. Pour into a shallow bowl or plate. Dredge the chicken bits in the pretzels crumbs. Fry, turning once until golden brown and fully cooked about 5-8 minutes. Drain on paper towel-lined plates. Serve immediately.

My thoughts:
I had these chicken thighs in the fridge for awhile and I had no idea what to do with them. To be honest, I don’t love chicken. Creating recipes for my cookbooks, especially the healthier focused ones made me a bit tired of it. But it chicken thighs are exceedingly affordable and a lot more flavorful than chicken breasts so I find myself making them with some regularity. 
I had some leftover buttermilk from making cornbread to go with this soup so I thought maybe I’d make fried chicken but that seemed a bit dull. Then I thought I could spike the buttermilk with mustard to jazz it up then that made me think of pretzels and the rest was, well this recipe. 
It is as simple as making any breaded chicken but has the distinctive taste of pretzels and is surprisingly well-flavored throughout thanks to the mustard-buttermilk marinade. 

Another fun pretzel-mustard-chicken recipe: Pretzel & Mustard Spiked Chicken Burgers.

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