Fried rooster and candy elements aren’t a brand new mixture. Whether or not you adore it or hate it, practically everybody who has had a McDonald’s rooster nugget has dipped it in honey. Candy and smoky barbecue sauce isn’t any stranger to fried rooster both, and Korean fried rooster pops with a candy, spicy, garlicky sauce glazed on the craggy, crispy exterior. However these are all after-the-fact additions that increase the rooster post-frying. Candy parts, although, will be integrated into the fried rooster itself for some shocking ends in each style and texture. And one significantly efficient secret ingredient is powdered sugar.

Whereas fried rooster is not a very difficult dish, it’s one which advantages from considerate consideration relating to constructing flavors. Marinating the rooster in buttermilk, garlic powder, pickle juice brine, and scorching sauce make the meat moist and flavorful, guaranteeing that it is greater than a prop for the fried exterior. That mentioned, there are myriad methods to spice up the crunchy coating, from cornstarch and rice flour to powdered sugar, a confectioner’s go-to that provides depth and physique. When added to wheat flour and different elements, powdered sugar brings a contact of sweetness that counteracts the salty, bitter notes of the marinade whereas additionally displacing a few of the flour which may in any other case result in less-crispy fried rooster.

Including powdered sugar to fried rooster could appear anathema to the savory crunch that the dish normally delivers. However perceive that the suggestion sees only a little bit of the finely floor sugar added to the flour and spice combination. Because of this, the fried rooster would not a lot come out candied because it does subtly candy and irresistibly crunchy.

This begs the query: Why would not fried rooster at all times turn into as completely crispy as we need? The reply lies within the very flour that makes up a bulk of the crust. All-purpose flour is comparatively excessive in protein in comparison with different flours. Because of this on the warmth wanted to fry rooster, the flour will tackle extra shade and burn simpler. By changing a portion of the all-purpose flour with elements like cornstarch, low-protein wheat flours like Wondra, or powdered sugar, you elevate the flexibility of the fried rooster to face up to the temperature wanted to achieve most crispiness. And, as if kismet, powdered sugar (which is simpler to make than you may need thought) accommodates cornstarch as an anti-clumping agent, which solely additional develops the feel of the fried rooster.