What is a chicken chop?
Here in Malaysia, chicken chops are everywhere! Grilled or fried crispy, you’ll find them on the menu for most restaurants. I can’t lie, I could eat this chicken dish every day. The dark meat of the leg and thigh with crispy skin attached tastes like what dreams are made of. The world should be so in love with this cut of meat the same way Malaysians are.
Why is it called chicken chop?
Normally, a meat cut can only be considered a chop cut if it is cut perpendicular to the spine and contains a bit of bone in it. With chicken, however, that is not something you can easily do. So the Malaysians found a way around it and instead use a deboned chicken leg with about 1 in / 2cm of the tail end of the bottom of the drumstick. This not only gives it that bone to make it a ‘chop’ but also gives you something to hold on to when you are dipping it in egg, dredging it in oil, and frying. I, personally, like to debone the leg entirely as it allows me to easily devour it without fear.
How to debone a chicken leg
It might seem a bit intimidating to debone a tricky cut of meat like a chicken leg but it’s actually easier than it seems and takes a lot less time than expected. I got the hang of it pretty quickly and am now tempted to debone everything.
To debone, simply take a sharp knife and cut along the bone in long strokes, similar to how you would sketch a portrait. Keep cutting away until all the bone is clear then go back and clean up any tendons or bits of bone remaining. If you need extra help and want to see how it is done, go here for a visual demonstration on how to properly debone a chicken leg.
Extra Crispy Chicken Chop
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Description
Crispy chicken chop is a popular favorite in Malaysia consisting of a deboned chicken leg cured and coated in spice then fried to crispy perfection. #chicken #chickenrecipes #fried #spicy
Ingredients
- 3–4 chicken legs (legs with thighs attached)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 3–4 tbsp sambal or chili paste
- 1 tbsp of onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- vegetable oil or any other oil suitable for frying
- 2 eggs (beaten with 2 tbsp of water)
Instructions
- On a cutting board, place chicken leg skin side down.
- Using a sharp knife, make long and shallow cuts along the line of the bone until bones and joints are exposed. Keep cutting away until all meat has separated from the bone.
- Once the bone is exposed from the top, start cutting the meat away from under the bone (without turning it over!) with the same long and shallow cuts on the underside until bones are fully separated from the meat.
- Once the chicken is boneless, remove any remaining bone fragments stuck in the chop along with any cartilage or chewy tendons (especially near the base end of the leg).
- You can do this yourself or have your butcher prepare it for you.
- Once chicken chops are deboned, mix 1 tablespoon of sea salt with sugar and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Sprinkle both sides of chicken chops with the salt sugar mix.
- Place over a grate or sieve with a container underneath to catch the liquid that drains off. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.
- When ready for cooking, rinse chicken chops with water in order to remove excess salt and sugar. Drain excess water off and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, garlic powder and onion powder. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs with 2 tbsp of water.
- Lightly brush chicken chop with sambal or chili paste and dip in flour mixture, then beaten egg, then flour once more.
- In a large frying pan or wok, heat a generous amount of oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (you’ll know if you drop a little bit of batter into it and the oil bubbles around it), shake excess flour off meat and add chicken chop skin side down into the oil.
- Depending on the size, you’ll want the chicken chop to cook in the oil anywhere from 15-20 minutes in order to get the skin crispy and meat fully cooked. Keep oil hot but not so hot that the outside burns before the center is cooked. Keep the oil at a steady medium-high heat with a fairly moderate bubble. Nothing too hot or with a furious sizzle.
- After 15-20 minutes, the outside should be golden brown and crispy with a tender and juicy inside. Remove from oil and drain excess oil on paper towels. Serve with your favorite sauce or gravy and enjoy.
Notes
- Go here for a visual demonstration on how to properly debone a chicken leg.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Malaysian
This looks really good. Thanks for the tutorial on deboning. I’m addicted to sambal and I like that the chicken gets dipped prior to the breading.
Thanks. Usually this kind of crispy chicken chop is served with a little salted egg yolk sauce over it. I highly recommend. 😆
I’d like to try it with the egg yolk sauce.