Southern Fried Chicken Biscuit Recipe

Of all the breakfast breads, my heart belongs to biscuits. Being raised in the South, I grew up gumming buttermilk biscuits before I had my first teeth, and they have always been part of a proper breakfast spread in my mind. There are plenty of great ways to enjoy a good biscuit — I love a big, juicy slab of salted tomato on a biscuit during the summer, and my husband adores biscuits and gravy for a special weekend treat, but if I had to choose one biscuit to rule them all it would be the fried chicken biscuit.

This version has a few special things going for it. You can use whatever biscuits you like best, including store-bought, but I prefer this recipe (and personally, I like to cut them in squares so there’s no waste, but a circular biscuit cutter works great too). The chicken breasts are marinated in a mixture of dill pickle brine and buttermilk, which keeps the white meat tender and juicy. The simple flour dredge includes garlic powder and paprika to add another layer of flavor. And then come the toppings — I like to drizzle mine with hot honey, but you can use whatever combination of hot sauce, sweet butter, pickles, or honey you love.

I’ve got biscuits and fried chicken in my blood! (Okay, not literally.) I’ve lived in the South my entire life, and some of my earliest memories are of eating my Grandma Winnie’s biscuits while watching Saturday morning cartoons. Years later, one of my first cooking jobs involved making dozens of biscuits every week. These days, I’m a full-time recipe developer, with bylines in Bon Appetit, Eater, The Kitchn, and Virginia Living.

Refrigerate leftover fried chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 400°F oven until crisp and warmed through.