Directions

1. Debone the chicken thighs. Leave the skin in tact. Cut the thighs in half, creating two equal sized pieces.
2. Whisk together the buttermilk and Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine in a Briner Jr. Briner Bucket. Add the chicken thighs to the buttermilk brine. Soak overnight (8-12 hours).
3. Place the frozen croissants on a parchment lined pan, spread out so they won’t touch. Cover in a plastic bag. Let sit at room temp overnight to proof.
4. Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 150ºF, set up for smoking.
5. Combine the flour, Plowboys BBQ Fin & Feather Seasoning and Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub in a shallow pan. Whisk well.
6. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk brine and transfer directly to the flour. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, covering all surfaces. Shake off excess flour and transfer to a wire rack positioned over a sheet pan.
7. When all chicken is dredged, transfer the wire rack full of chicken to the smoker. Let smoke/rest for 30-45 minutes. Remove from the grill and increase the grill temp to 325ºF.
8. Meanwhile, melt the beef tallow in a Lodge 10” Cast Iron Skillet over a burner. The skillet should be about half full of melted tallow. Bring the temperature of the tallow up to 350ºF and hold.
9. Fry the chicken, 2-3 pieces at a time in the hot tallow. Carefully add each piece, taking care to not let the hot tallow bubble over the edges.
10. Adjust the heat level to maintain 325ºF tallow temperature.
11. Flip the chicken when browned on bottom. Cook to internal of 175ºF-180ºF. If needed, remove the chicken from the skillet when properly browned and finish bringing up the internal temperature inside the grill.
12. When the croissants are proofed (puffed up and about doubled in size). Remove from the pan. Roll each croissant in Noble Saltworks Smoked Maple Turbinado Sugar to coat the surface, then transfer to the waffle iron. Cook until crispy and golden brown on the outside and still chewy on the inside. Remove from the waffle iron.
13. Serve the fried chicken on top of the croffle, topped with maple syrup and Heat Maverick’s Anti-Gravity Scorpion Hot Sauce.