Chicken and Biscuit Sliders with Smoky Chard Slaw

Ingredients

8 buttermilk biscuits (make them from scratch, make them from a store-bought buttermilk biscuit mix or use good quality, store-bought buttermilk biscuits), warmed and split
8 pieces boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed into 3- to 4-ounce pieces to fit biscuits
Salt and pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated or chopped then mashed into paste
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon mustard powder, a couple of palmfuls
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon onion powder, a palmful

1 tablespoon sweet paprika or smoked sweet paprika, a palmful
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, half a palmful
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/3 palmful
Vegetable or any light frying oil, plus additional
4 slices smoky, thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 bundle Swiss chard, stemmed, cleaned, dried and shredded
2 tablespoons cider or wine vinegar
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Honey, for drizzling
Hot sauce, for garnish

Yields: 4 servings, 2 sliders each

Preparation

If you're making your own biscuits or baking off a mix, prepare the drop biscuits – you need a 3- to 4-inch biscuit.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Mix sour cream with chives and garlic. Coat the chicken in sour cream mix.

Place flour, mustard, poultry seasoning, onion powder, paprika, ginger and cayenne in a paper sack.

Heat a couple of inches of oil in a heavy pot over medium to medium-high heat. The oil is ready for frying when bubbles pour out rapidly from the inserted handle of a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, add a drizzle of oil to a skillet with a tight-fitting lid. With the lid off, heat oil over medium-high heat then add the bacon. When it's crisp, about 3 minutes, add shredded chard and toss to wilt. Add vinegar; season with pepper and a few grates of nutmeg. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook 8-10 minutes and turn off heat.

Add chicken to flour and seasonings in the paper sack, roll the top down and shake bag. Shake any excess flour off the chicken pieces and add to the hot frying oil. Fry chicken thighs 7-8 minutes, until deeply golden. Remove from frying oil with spider or tongs and cool on a cooling rack.

Dress chicken with a drizzle of honey and a few dashes of hot sauce on each piece. To serve, place chicken on biscuit bottoms, top with greens and biscuit tops.