Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Marinade and Delta Sauce (Mississippi)

In the Mississippi Delta, locals prepare and enjoy their Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken with some heat and an equally spicy dipping sauce known simply as Delta Sauce.

Chicken:
3 eggs
⅓ cup water
1 cup “Texas Pete” hot red pepper sauce
4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
2 tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked
2 tsp. ground paprika
3 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 qt buttermilk (optional)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
garlic powder
2½ lbs chicken, cut into pieces
peanut oil, for frying

Delta Sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup chili sauce
¼ cup ketchup
½ tsp. ground paprika
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked
1 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2-3 dashes hot pepper sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

For the Chicken:
Place cut-up chicken in a large bowl, and cover with buttermilk. Cover and chill for two hours, or overnight. This is an optional (but recommended) step.

In a large bowl, add eggs, water, and red pepper sauce. Whisk until combined.

In a large gallon freezer bag, mix flour, pepper, paprika, and cayenne.

Remove chicken from buttermilk (if marinated) and sprinkle lightly with sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Place all chicken pieces in freezer bag with flour mixture. Shake until all pieces are evenly coated.

Remove chicken pieces one at a time, shaking excess flour. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, and return to bag of flour. After all pieces of been dipped in the egg mixture and put back in the bag, give it a second shake to coat chicken pieces again.

Heat oil in deep fryer or deep pan to 350°F.

Working in batches, drop each piece of chicken into the hot oil. Fry for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasionally if oil does not completely cover chicken. Keep in mind that dark meat takes longer to cook than white meat. Watch your wing segments, as well; these will finish cooking first.

For the Delta sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for one hour before serving.

Makes 4 servings.