Snoop Dogg’s Fried Chicken Is Game-Changing & You Should Make It Right Now

Snoop Dogg might be the world’s most unlikely culinary star, but a culinary star he is. The rapper, actor, and producer is no longer just a bonafide hip hop legend, he also has a cooking show with BFF Martha Stewart, where the duo put their own spins on dinner party dishes with celebrity guests like Seth Rogen, Ashley Graham, and 50 Cent. If you haven’t given it a watch yet, you must. In no other place will you see Martha Stewart jump out of a giant cake or discuss edibles without skipping a beat.

Now the D-O-double-G is also the author of his very own cookbook, From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen. Martha wrote the foreword, of course. In it, she describes how the pair hit it off during his 2008 appearance on the Martha Stewart Show, where they made cognac mashed potatoes and green sprinkle brownies.

Even with Martha’s endorsement, the lineup is certified Snoop. “From breakfast goodies to late-night munchies,” he writes in the introduction, these recipes are inspired by his favorite places to eat around the world, plus some classic dishes from Long Beach City, California, where he grew up. You’ll find everything from apple pie to lobster Thermidor (plus, a bologna and potato chip grilled cheese that looks divine), but the two recipes that intrigued me most were his “Get Tha Chip Fried Chicken Wings” and “OG Waffles.”

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I’ve always loved fried chicken (especially served over waffles with syrup), but never considered making it before. In fact, the prospect of frying anything in a vat of sizzling-hot oil truly terrifies me. But the idea of chicken wings coated in a thick buttermilk batter and—Snoop’s twist—crunchy BBQ potato chips was simply too good to pass up. And the waffles, well, considering I had just picked up the cutest mini waffle maker a few days before, those just sealed the deal. I was nervous to try it myself, but something about Snoop’s recipe assured me I could do it.

So I set to work. Because you have to wet-brine the chicken (with a sweet, citrusy combo of sugar, salt, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and orange peels), you’ll need to start prepping these wings the day before you want to cook them (or the morning of, at the very latest). But making the brine was easy and got me that much more excited to fry up some chicken the following day.

Roughly 24 hours later, my wings were brined and ready. One of the most crucial steps, especially with a wet brine, is to pat all of the chicken dry with a paper towel so the skin isn’t soggy and binds to the coating. So I did that and then prepped my batter.

This was the fun part. I ripped open my bag of BBQ potato chips, crushed them all up, and stirred them into my dry ingredients (a mixture of flour, cornmeal, cayenne, baking powder, and garlic powder). Then, wing by wing, drumstick by drumstick, I dunked each piece first into a bowl of buttermilk before tossing it into the potato chip coating and setting it on a metal rack to rest for 30 minutes. While the chicken wings were drying, I made the buttermilk waffle batter so it would be ready to go.

Finally, the moment I had been excitedly waiting for/fearing: frying. I dumped a quart of canola oil into a Dutch oven and cranked on the burner. After about 10 minutes, I started plopping in little pieces of potato chip to see if they would bubble (scientific, I know) until I determined that the oil was finally ready to test the first wing.

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I grabbed my pair of trusty, extra-long tongs and put on an oven mitt in case of any splattering oil. Fully prepared, I placed the first drumstick in and—whoosh!—it began to bubble wildly. I set a timer for eight minutes (like the recipe recommends), but found myself neurotically checking to see if it had burned at least every two minutes.

A surprise to no one, I burned the first one a bit, but I was slowly getting into my frying groove. After a batch or two, I was cranking out wing after wing of golden, crispy chicken, with beautiful potato chip flecks. Once all the chicken was fried up, I whipped up a few buttermilk waffles and took a moment to proudly bask in the glory (i.e. take photos) of what I had prepared (pictured above).

The chicken was perfection—it literally made audible crunches and crackles, and the meat inside was deliciously tender and juicy (thanks to the wet brine). I got hints of BBQ chip in the coating, but truthfully, I’d add way more potato chips to the batter next time (can there ever be too many potato chips?). The waffles had a nice balance of sweet (from the sugar) and tang (from the buttermilk), and they were fluffy, which is all I’m really looking for in a waffle anyway.

I ate until my plate was empty. I was thoroughly stuffed, but exceptionally pleased with myself. And for that, I honestly have no one to thank but Snoop Dogg.

What’s your favorite fried chicken recipe? Tell us in the comments below!