Today, we are making a homemade fried chicken sandwich from KFC, but not just any fried chicken sandwich, we are making KFC’s double down sandiwch. It’s two pieces of fried chicken with special sauce, bacon, and cheese. It's a beautiful monstrosity of a sandwich. I'll also share some top tips for how to deep fry chicken at home. Let's do this.

Fried Chicken

Spice mix

2 spoonfuls Smoked Paprika
1 spoonful ground Black Pepper
1 spoonful Chili Powder
1 spoonful Oregano
1/2 spoonful Garlic Powder
1/2 spoonful Cayenne
1/2 spoonful powdered Ginger

Method:

Add all the spices to a bowl and mix to combine.
Store in an airtight container.

Quick Brine

500 ml Water
50 g Coarse Kosher Salt (5% brine)
2 Bay Leaves
2 spoonfuls Spice Mix (above)
500 g Ice

Method:

Add the water, salt, bay leaves, and spice mix to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the water to a boil and stir until the salt is dissolved.
Meanwhile, add the ice to a large metal bowl where the chicken will be brined. Pour the spiced brine over the ice and stir until the ice is dissolved.
- Note: The ice method is only used to rapidly cool the brine instead of letting it slowly come down to room temperature before adding the chicken.
This brine can be used for pork, fish, poultry, and more. For larger cuts like a whole chicken, it can sit for 12-24 hours in the brine, however, for boneless chicken thighs, 30-60 minutes will be sufficient.

Boneless Fried Chicken Thighs

4 Boneless skinless chicken thighs
100 g Flour
25 g Corn Starch
5 g Baking Powder
5 g Salt
2 spoonfuls Spice Mix (above)
Oil to deep fry (preferably peanut oil)

Method:

Add the boneless skinless chicken thighs to the brine and cover the bowl with saran wrap. Let the chicken sit in the brine at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours. For a thin cut like boneless thighs, they do not need a lot of time in the brine for the salt to go to work.
Meanwhile mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and spice mix in a large bowl.
Remove a chicken thigh from the brine letting the excess water drip off. Transfer to the spiced flour and toss until coated. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken thighs until they are all well coated in the bowl.
Shake the shit out of the thighs to remove the excess flour and transfer to a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Meanwhile, add the oil to a wok over medium-high heat. Bring the oil to 375 F testing with a thermometer. Carefully lay the thigh into oil away from you. Do not overcrowd the wok. Work in small batches if you need to. Meanwhile set up a second wire rack with a baking sheet. Lay paper towels down on half of the pan.
Fry the chicken until deeply golden brown all over about 8-10 minutes. Flipping once in the middle. Move a piece to the paper towel to check the temperature. If it reads 160 F, the chicken is done. Dab both sides of the chicken on the paper towel to sop up any excess oil and move to the bottom half of the rack without paper towels to allow air to circulate. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately, or if making the sandwich place the cheese, bacon, and special sauce (recipe below) between two pieces of chicken and enjoy.

Special Sauce