Glazed Fried Chicken With Old Bay and Cayenne

Crispy fried chicken with a spicy-sweet glaze featuring Old Bay seasoning and cayenne pepper. The chicken is brined in a salt and hot sauce mixture before being coated in seasoned flour and fried to golden perfection.

8 servings

17 hr 43 min

Published October 4, 2025

Ingredients

•9½ ounces kosher salt
•⅓ cup light brown sugar
•¾ cup hot sauce
•2 whole chickens
•4 cups all-purpose flour
•6 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
•3 cups buttermilk
•¾ cup lard
•1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
•2 teaspoons paprika
•1½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
•4 quarts vegetable oil
•1 piece deep-fry thermometer

Cooking Instructions

1.
Heat salt, brown sugar, and 4 cups water in a large pot over medium, whisking, until salt and sugar dissolve, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in hot sauce and 8 cups ice water. Add chicken to brine, cover, and chill 4 hours.
240 min
2.
Combine 2 cups flour and 3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning in a shallow baking dish and toss with your fingers to evenly distribute seasoning. Place buttermilk in a medium bowl. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.
10 min
3.
Working one at a time, dip 8 pieces of chicken in buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off, then coat in flour mixture, packing all around chicken and pressing firmly into cracks and crevices; shake off excess. Place chicken on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Discard flour mixture, which will be wet at this point, and repeat process with remaining flour, Old Bay, buttermilk, and chicken; place on another wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, 12-24 hours.
720 min
4.
Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
30 min
5.
Heat lard, Old Bay, paprika, and cayenne in a small saucepan over low, stirring, until lard is melted, about 3 minutes. Set glaze aside.
3 min
6.
Pour oil into a large pot fitted with deep-fry thermometer to come halfway up the sides. Heat over medium-high until thermometer registers 325°. Working in 4 batches, fry chicken, turning often with tongs and adjusting heat to maintain temperature, until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken registers 165° for dark meat and 160° for white meat, 10-12 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken back to wire racks and let rest 5 minutes. Brush lightly with glaze (reheat glaze, if needed) and let cool. Store on racks at room temperature up to 3 hours ahead.
60 min

Ingredients

•9½ ounces kosher salt

•⅓ cup light brown sugar

•¾ cup hot sauce

•2 whole chickens

•4 cups all-purpose flour

•6 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

•3 cups buttermilk

•¾ cup lard

•1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

•2 teaspoons paprika

•1½ teaspoons cayenne pepper

•4 quarts vegetable oil

•1 piece deep-fry thermometer

Cooking Instructions

Heat salt, brown sugar, and 4 cups water in a large pot over medium, whisking, until salt and sugar dissolve, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in hot sauce and 8 cups ice water. Add chicken to brine, cover, and chill 4 hours.

240 min

Combine 2 cups flour and 3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning in a shallow baking dish and toss with your fingers to evenly distribute seasoning. Place buttermilk in a medium bowl. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

10 min

Working one at a time, dip 8 pieces of chicken in buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off, then coat in flour mixture, packing all around chicken and pressing firmly into cracks and crevices; shake off excess. Place chicken on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Discard flour mixture, which will be wet at this point, and repeat process with remaining flour, Old Bay, buttermilk, and chicken; place on another wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, 12-24 hours.

720 min

Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

30 min

Heat lard, Old Bay, paprika, and cayenne in a small saucepan over low, stirring, until lard is melted, about 3 minutes. Set glaze aside.

3 min

Pour oil into a large pot fitted with deep-fry thermometer to come halfway up the sides. Heat over medium-high until thermometer registers 325°. Working in 4 batches, fry chicken, turning often with tongs and adjusting heat to maintain temperature, until skin is deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken registers 165° for dark meat and 160° for white meat, 10-12 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken back to wire racks and let rest 5 minutes. Brush lightly with glaze (reheat glaze, if needed) and let cool. Store on racks at room temperature up to 3 hours ahead.

60 min