Pollo a la Diabla Frito (Devil's Fried Chicken)
Crisp fried chicken tossed hot from the oil in salsa diabla, a fiery, smoky red chile sauce of toasted guajillo, chile de árbol and chipotle in adobo, finished with lime and butter so it clings to every crackly edge.
Why It Works
Frying the blended chile purée in lard (the Mexican technique of sazonar) cooks out the raw chile taste and concentrates it into a glaze. Cornstarch and baking powder in the dredge keep the crust crisp under the sauce, and the butter emulsifies the salsa so it coats instead of soaking in.
Notes
Starter recipe; adjust to taste. Heat lives in the árbol chiles: 6 is spicy, 10 is truly diabla. The sauce keeps a week refrigerated and is great on shrimp (camarones a la diabla). For wings, fry 10–12 minutes.
RECIPE CARD
Pollo a la Diabla Frito (Devil's Fried Chicken)
Yield: 4–6 servings (8 pieces) | Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 4 hours brine
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Ingredients
Brine
- 3 lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks (or 3 lb wings)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
Dredge
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp guajillo or ancho chile powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
Salsa diabla
- 6 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 6–10 chiles de árbol, stemmed (more for hotter)
- 3 chipotles in adobo, plus 2 Tbsp adobo sauce
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- ¼ white onion
- 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp lard or vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp piloncillo or brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 3 Tbsp cold butter
- Kosher salt to taste
To fry and serve
- Peanut oil or lard for frying
- Mexican crema or sour cream
- Thin-sliced white onion, cilantro, lime wedges
- Warm tortillas and Mexican rice
Instructions
- Brine. Whisk buttermilk, salt, garlic and oregano. Add chicken, coat, and refrigerate 4–24 hours.
- Toast the chiles. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast guajillos and árbols 20–30 seconds per side until fragrant and blistered; do not burn or the sauce turns bitter. Soak in hot water 15 minutes.
- Char the vegetables. In the same skillet, char tomatoes, onion and unpeeled garlic until blackened in spots, 8–10 minutes. Peel the garlic.
- Blend. Drain the chiles and blend with the charred vegetables, chipotles, adobo, cumin, oregano and stock until very smooth. Strain through a fine sieve.
- Fry the sauce. Heat lard in a saucepan until shimmering, pour in the purée (it will spatter) and fry, stirring, 10–12 minutes until it darkens and thickens to a coating consistency. Stir in piloncillo and salt. Keep warm; finish with lime and butter right before tossing.
- Dredge. Whisk dredge ingredients. Drizzle in 3 Tbsp brine and rub to make shaggy clumps. Lift chicken from brine, press firmly into the dredge, and rest on a rack 15 minutes.
- Fry. Heat 2 inches of oil to 325°F. Fry in batches without crowding, turning occasionally, 12–15 minutes, until deep golden and the thickest piece reads 175°F. Drain on a rack.
- Toss. Off the heat, whisk the cold butter and lime juice into the warm sauce. Toss the hot chicken in a large bowl with the sauce until glossy, or brush it on to keep more crunch.
- Serve. Drizzle with crema and top with onion and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges, warm tortillas and rice.
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Schossow Kitchen · schossowkitchen.com
