Yield: 4 servings.
Mayonnaise:
½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Texas Pete
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Quick-Pickled Onions:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ cup rice vinegar
½ teaspoon pickling spice
½ teaspoon salt
1 medium red onion, sliced very thin
Fried Chicken:
Vegetable or peanut oil for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 eggs
2 tablespoons Texas Pete
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 hamburger buns
1 cucumber, sliced thin
4 leaves lettuce
For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the onions: Add sugar, vinegar, pickling spice, salt, and 1 cup water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Add sliced onions to a glass jar and pour vinegar mixture over onions. Secure lid and refrigerate until ready to serve. Store extra pickled onions up to 2 weeks in the fridge and use in salads or on hamburgers.
For the fried chicken: Pour ½ an inch of oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high. In a shallow dish, mix together flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. In a second shallow dish, whisk together eggs and Texas Pete.
Pat chicken thighs with a paper towel and place in flour mixture; dust on both sides. Dip chicken into egg mixture and back into flour mixture; dust on both sides.
When oil has reached 350°, fry chicken thighs for 8 to 10 minutes per side or until they are a deep golden brown. Oil temperature will drop, so you may need to fry in two batches depending on size of pot. Drain cooked chicken on paper towels and let rest on a cooling rack 5 minutes before serving.
To assemble: Spread mayonnaise mixture on each bun half. Place chicken thigh on bottom bun, followed by pickled onions, cucumber slices, lettuce, and top bun.
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
