MENU GUIDES • 5 min read
What Is Buttermilk Chicken?
A soak that happens hours before anything is fried — and the reason one sandwich on this menu has the coating it has.
Buttermilk is a mildly acidic, thick soak. It tenderises lean chicken, holds seasoning against it and makes a coating grip so it crisps properly instead of falling off. It is why the buttermilk buffalo chicken has the texture it does.
One sandwich on this menu is buttermilk chicken, and the word is doing more work than it looks. Buttermilk is not a flavour note or a marketing term — it is a preparation step that happens hours before the chicken is cooked, and it is the reason that sandwich has the texture it has.
What buttermilk actually is
Traditionally, the liquid left behind when cream is churned into butter — which is where the name comes from, slightly misleadingly, since there is almost no butter in it. Britannica describes it as the fluid remaining after the fat is removed. Most buttermilk sold today is cultured instead: milk with bacteria added to sour and thicken it deliberately.
Either way the useful property is the same. It is mildly acidic and it is thick, and those two things are what a chicken brine needs.
What it does to chicken
Two things at once, which is why it became the standard for fried chicken rather than one of several options.
- It tenderises. The mild acidity loosens the protein structure at the surface, so the meat stays softer through cooking
- It holds seasoning against the meat. Being thick, it clings where a thin marinade would run off
- It grips the coating. Wet, slightly tacky chicken takes a flour or crumb coating far better than dry chicken does
- It adds a faint sourness that balances the salt and fat of frying
The third point is the practical one. A dry chicken breast dropped in flour sheds most of it in the fryer; a buttermilk-soaked one holds a thick, craggy coating that crisps properly. That is the difference between a coating that stays on and one that ends up in the bottom of the basket.
Why breast, and why it matters
Chicken breast is the leanest common cut and the one most likely to end up dry — there is very little fat to keep it moist and a narrow window between cooked and overcooked.
Buttermilk widens that window. It is essentially a rescue for a cut that otherwise punishes small mistakes, which is why buttermilk and breast turn up together far more often than buttermilk and thigh. The same logic explains why philly-style chicken is sliced thin and cooked in seconds: two different techniques solving the same problem.
| Buttermilk fried | Philly style | Griddled in a wrap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Soaked, then coated | Sliced thin | Whole, griddled |
| Cooked | In oil | Chopped on the flat top | On the flat top |
| Texture | Crisp outside, soft inside | Uniform, no coating | Firm, no coating |
| Where | Buttermilk buffalo chicken | Two po’boys | Chicken wrap, chicken Philly |
| Eats | Richest of the three | Middle | Lightest |
The sandwich it is on
The Buttermilk Buffalo Chicken po’boy: buffalo mild sauce, ranch and lettuce, on a burger bun. Three things about it are worth knowing before you order.
- It is the mild one — mild sauce plus ranch. If you want heat, this is not the order
- It is on a burger bun, and it is the only po’boy that does not come in a 7-inch and a 12-inch
- It is A2 on both the weekday and weekend special menus, with a side and a drink — one of the few items available as a special seven days a week
The ranch is not decoration either. A buttermilk coating is already faintly sour, and ranch is a buttermilk-based dressing, so the sandwich is built around the same note twice — which is why it tastes coherent rather than busy. Our guide to buffalo beyond wings covers how it compares with the wings.
Ordering the buttermilk buffalo chicken to take away? Ask for the ranch on the side. A buttermilk coating is at its best crisp, and dressing sitting on it in a closed bag is the fastest way to lose that.
Why it is not just a marinade
Worth separating, because the two get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. A marinade is mostly about flavour going in. A buttermilk soak is mostly about texture coming out — what changes is the structure of the meat and the behaviour of the surface, not primarily the taste.
That is why the buttermilk itself is barely detectable in the finished sandwich. If you can taste it, something has gone wrong; what you should be able to taste is chicken that has stayed soft and a coating that has stayed attached.
- A marinade flavours; a buttermilk soak conditions
- Time matters more than quantity — hours, not minutes
- The chicken goes into the coating still wet, which is the point
- Done properly, you should not taste the buttermilk at all
Buttermilk elsewhere on the menu
Not by name, but the same principle is at work in more than one place. Boneless wings are breaded pieces of chicken breast facing exactly the same problem — lean meat, hot oil, a coating that has to stay attached. Our comparison of bone-in and boneless covers what changes between them.
Bone-in wings do not need any of it, which is the interesting contrast. Skin and rendering fat do the job buttermilk is brought in to do, which is why nobody brines a wing.
What to order it with
The sandwich is rich — fried coating, ranch, a bun — so the side wants to be plain rather than another rich thing. Fries work precisely because they are mild; loaded fries on top of a ranch-dressed fried chicken sandwich is a lot of the same note three times over.
If it is coming as A2 on a special, the side and the drink are already in it, which makes that the sensible way to order it on a weekday. There is more on how to pick between fries and rings in fries or onion rings.
The short version
Buttermilk is a mildly acidic, thick soak that tenderises lean chicken, holds seasoning against it and helps the coating grip. It is why the buttermilk buffalo chicken has the coating it has, and the ranch on top is the same ingredient arriving twice. It is on the po’boy menu and as A2 on both special menus.
Buttermilk buffalo chicken
Mild sauce, ranch and lettuce on a burger bun — and A2 on both special menus.
Frequently asked questions
What is buttermilk?
Traditionally the liquid left when cream is churned into butter. Most buttermilk today is cultured — milk soured and thickened deliberately.
Why is chicken soaked in buttermilk?
It tenderises lean meat, holds seasoning against it, and makes the coating grip so it crisps properly instead of falling off.
Is the buttermilk buffalo chicken spicy?
No. It is made with buffalo mild sauce and ranch, which makes it the gentlest buffalo item on the menu.
What size does it come in?
One size, on a burger bun. It is the only po’boy that does not come in a 7-inch and a 12-inch.
Is it on the specials?
Yes, as A2 on both the weekday all-day list and the weekend list, with a side and a drink.
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