Champagne Fried Chicken Bites

This twist on fried chicken is a fun way to start the New Year and use up any left over sparkling wine for the batter. 

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 1/2 cups sour cream

3 tablespoons drained prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

One 2-ounce jar caviar

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup rice flour

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) chilled Champagne or other dry sparkling wine

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast and/or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

Special equipment: deep-fry thermometer

Pour 2 inches of oil in a large Dutch oven and heat to 360 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack.

For the caviar sour cream, stir the sour cream, horseradish, lemon zest and juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous grinding of black pepper together in a small bowl. Add 1 ounce of the caviar and the chives and stir just to combine (don’t overmix, you want to keep the caviar eggs whole). Refrigerate while you make the chicken.

For the chicken, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, rice flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the champagne to make a smooth batter.

Season the chicken pieces all over with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Working in batches, dip about half of the chicken pieces in the batter, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Add to the hot oil and fry, turning as needed, until deep golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the cooling rack to drain and season lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken and batter, letting the oil return to temperature between batches.

To serve, garnish the dip with the remaining 1 ounce caviar and some more chives. Serve the fried chicken hot or warm, with the dip.