Ethan Taylor, former personal chef to stars like Justin Bieber, Eddie Murphy, and Sean Combs (aka Diddy), joined us in Los Angeles to share his recipe for Sriracha-maple chicken biscuit sandwiches. This dish was Diddy’s most popular request and was regularly served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Taylor was first introduced to Diddy through his agency and was warned about the rapper-slash-mogul’s intense work schedule. The private chef knew he was up to the task and got started right away. Although Diddy has an estimated net worth of $1 billion, Taylor says he still remains grounded and loves comfort food.
The rapper’s favorite dish of all time is French toast, so Taylor infused some of those breakfast flavors into a recipe that can be eaten at all hours of the day. The foundation of this sandwich is a flaky, buttery biscuit, topped crispy fried chicken and a sticky Sriracha-maple glaze.
To a standard mixture of flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder, Taylor uses a game-changing tool to incorporate the butter: a cheese grater. He grates cold, unsalted European butter directly into the dry ingredients. This technique evenly distributes the fat without it melting.
Then he carefully mixes in buttermilk and folds the dough several times to create the signature flaky layers. Lastly, Taylor punches out the dough into rounds and bakes the biscuits until golden brown. He often kept pre-baked biscuits on hand at Diddy’s house so he could make a batch at the drop of a hat.
One night, Taylor got a call from the rapper at three in the morning requesting a batch of these biscuits. This led to an hours-long marathon of baking for some of the biggest names in music—like Nas, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé. Taylor provided impromptu catering for a Grammys after-party and these chicken biscuit sandwiches were the biggest hit.
Next, Taylor teaches us how to make the fried chicken. He thinly slices chicken breasts into cutlets that perfectly fit inside the biscuits. To maximize the surface area for the seasoning, he uses a knife to create crosshatches along the flesh. Taylor dips the chicken into batter, then creates a crispy coating with cornstarch, potato starch, and potato flour. The chicken takes a dip into a pot of oil heated to 375° F until the exterior is golden brown and the meat is moist and juicy.
While the biscuits and the chicken are delicious on their own, the cherry on top of this dish is the Sriracha-maple glaze. Taylor gently reduces maple syrup in a pan until it starts to bubble, then adds Sriracha to taste. The end result is a sticky, sweet, and spicy condiment that perfectly coats the surface of the chicken.
Want to make this sandwich for yourself? Check out the recipe here.
Previously on Celebrity Eats: Justin Bieber’s Former Personal Chef Makes His Favorite Pasta