As a southerner, I love fried chicken. The only problem is, I’m on a low-carb diet and the breading is carb city. Rather than giving in to temptation, I decided to engage in a little experimentation. After a few disastrous attempts, I finally hit on something that worked wonderfully as a substitute for traditional flour or cornmeal breading – Pork Rinds! 

Yes, pork rinds! During my low-carb adventure, pork rinds have satisfied my cravings for crunchiness. They’re like my no-carb potato chips or crackers. And now I use pork rinds to make some pretty darn good fried chicken.

Here are a few things you need to know should you want to fry up a batch. 

1. I like food that bites me back when I bite into it. If you’re not fond of hot and spicy, just use regular pork rinds and eliminate the hot sauce.
2. When you drop the chicken into the fryer, the pork rind coating turns dark almost immediately (that’s why I call it “blackened.”) 
3. During my experimentation, I found that boneless, skinless chicken thighs work best. Since the pork rinds are already cooked before you put them into the fryer, they tend to burn before thicker cuts of chicken, like breasts, can be thoroughly cooked. 

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless Sanderson Farms chicken thighs
1 bag of hot and spicy pork rinds
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons hot sauce
2 eggs
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

• Heat the oil in a deep skillet or deep fryer to about 375 degrees.
• Combine buttermilk, lime juice, hot sauce, and eggs in a medium bowl. Thoroughly mix. 
• Let the chicken thighs soak in the mixture while you prepare the dry ingredients. 
• Pulverize the pork rinds in a blender or mixer – or with your fists if you need to release a little stress 
• Mix in the parmesan cheese, paprika, and black pepper.
• Run the dry ingredients through a flour sifter to get a more consistent texture. 
• Remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture, letting the excess drip off.
• Dredge each piece in the pork rind mixture until thoroughly coated. 
• Drop each piece in the oil, cover, and cook for about 5-7 minutes. 
• Bon appetit!   

sifting the dry mixture with a flour sifter

Dry pork rind mixture and buttermilk mixture

pork rind coated chicken thighs ready for the fryer

What’s your favorite way fry chicken?