The Sweet Secret That Makes Fried Chicken Even Crispier

Fried chicken and sweet ingredients aren't a new combination. Whether you love it or hate it, nearly everyone who has had a McDonald's chicken nugget has dipped it in honey. Sweet and smoky barbecue sauce is no stranger to fried chicken either, and Korean fried chicken pops with a sweet, spicy, garlicky sauce glazed on the craggy, crispy exterior. But those are all after-the-fact additions that augment the chicken post-frying. Sweet elements, though, can be incorporated into the fried chicken itself for some surprising results in both taste and texture. And one particularly effective secret ingredient is powdered sugar.

While fried chicken isn't a particularly complicated dish, it is one that benefits from thoughtful consideration when it comes to building flavors. Marinating the chicken in buttermilk, garlic powder, pickle juice brine, and hot sauce make the meat moist and flavorful, ensuring that it's more than a prop for the fried exterior. That said, there are myriad ways to boost the crunchy coating, from cornstarch and rice flour to powdered sugar, a confectioner's go-to that adds depth and body. When added to wheat flour and other ingredients, powdered sugar brings a touch of sweetness that counteracts the salty, sour notes of the marinade while also displacing some of the flour which could otherwise lead to less-crispy fried chicken.

Adding powdered sugar to fried chicken may seem anathema to the savory crunch that the dish usually delivers. But understand that the suggestion sees just a bit of the finely ground sugar added to the flour and spice mixture. As a result, the fried chicken doesn't so much come out candied as it does subtly sweet and irresistibly crunchy.

This begs the question: Why doesn't fried chicken always become as thoroughly crispy as we desire? The answer lies in the very flour that makes up a bulk of the crust. All-purpose flour is relatively high in protein compared to other flours. This means that at the heat needed to fry chicken, the flour will take on more color and burn easier. By replacing a portion of the all-purpose flour with ingredients like cornstarch, low-protein wheat flours like Wondra, or powdered sugar, you raise the ability of the fried chicken to withstand the temperature needed to attain maximum crispiness. And, as if kismet, powdered sugar (which is easier to make than you might have thought) contains cornstarch as an anti-clumping agent, which only further develops the texture of the fried chicken.