Cool Ranch Doritos Chicken and Grits
This chicken and grits dish is infused with cool ranch doritos in every way possible! I am obsessed with cool ranch Doritos and I am always trying to think of ways to incorporate the flavors into other foods. My favorite way to cook is to incorporate high end and low end ingredients and I feel like this mash-up is very successful in that way!
The inspiration for this recipe
I saw that person on TikTok make mashed potatoes out of pringles a while back. It’s kinda nasty looking but also I was like HMMMMMM. Cool ranch Doritos are the best chips, and grits are the mashed potatoes of corn, so now you know how my brain works. I mixed crunched up chips with coarse cornmeal and used it as the base for the grits as well as the dredge for the fried chicken. I was also inspired by the method of making Nashville chicken, where you use the frying oil to quickly blanch some spices to form the sauce. Instead of mostly cayenne, I used berbere spice to add some complex and bitter contrast to the salty Dorito infused dish.
Making the grits
Coarse cornmeal and crushed Doritos make up the base for the grits. After that, you make them like any grits, bring the liquids to a simmer and whisk in the cornmeal.
The liquids were butter, chicken stock, and milk. After you whisk in the cornmeal, let it simmer while stirring for about a half hour.
And now it’s grits!
Frying the cool ranch Doritos chicken
Before you make the grits, take some of the cornmeal-dorito mixture and set it aside to dredge the chicken in. This is chicken thighs that I dredged in the mixture and then pan fried. Before I dredged them, I marinated them in some pickle juice for a bit.
Make the spicy sauce for the chicken
Put the berbere spice in a bowl. When the chicken is just about done cooking, scoop some oil out of the pan and whisk the hot oil into the berbere spice. Drizzle the oil over the chicken when it is resting on the rack.
Serving the Cool Ranch Doritos Chicken and Grits
Put the grits down first, then top with the chicken! Make sure to add extra drizzle, and top with scallions and chili flakes.
So much cool ranch action on one plate. The cornmeal coating is crunchy and thick and definitely different than a traditional flour coating. I topped this with a little extra of the berbere drizzle which was super spicy too and went so well with everything.
Twists on Cool Ranch Doritos Chicken and Grits
You could definitely make this with other doritos flavors. Nacho cheese is obviously the classic. Sweet chili would be great too!
If you want more cool ranch recipes, check out my cool ranch mac and cheese.
If you are looking for a more traditional chicken and grits, I love this recipe from Razzle Dazzle Life!
Cool Ranch Chicken and Grits
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken and marinade
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- salt and pepper
Cornmeal/Dorito mixture
- 4 cups coarse cornmeal
- 2 cups crushed chips
Grits
- 4 tablespoons butter split in half
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cornmeal dorito mixture
Chicken
- the rest of the cornmeal mixture
- oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon berbere spice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Mix the chicken with the pickle juice, egg, salt and pepper. Cover and set aside in the fridge for a few hours
- Mix the crushed chips with the cornmeal and mash it up until it is all one texture.
- Bring half the butter, along with the stock and milk to a simmer. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the cornmeal mixture. Turn to low and continue to simmer and stir for about a half hour.
- Meanwhile, bring the oil to 350 in a heavy cast iron pot. One by one take the chicken out of the marinade and dredge it in the cornmeal mixture. Fry about 3-5 minutes per side to brown and cook through.
- when the chicken is just about done, add the berbere to a bowl with the garlic powder and some salt and pepper. Take a few spoonfuls of the hot frying liquid and add them to the bowl with the spices. Stir to combine and add more oil if needed to form a thin sauce.
- Remove the chicken from the oil to a cooling rack and drizzle on the spiced oil.
- Add the remaining butter to the grits and stir well. If it seems to thick you can add a little milk.
- Serve the grits first, then top with the chicken. Add some hot sauce, chili flakes, and scallions as desired.