Trim the chicken thighs of any excess skin or fat, and place in a large dish for marinating (I use a 9 x 12 baking dish).
Stir together the buttermilk, split jalepeno, sliced shallot, smashed garlic, salt and pepper, and pour over the chicken and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but up to overnight.
When ready to cook, heat the canola oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat to a temperature of 350 degrees, using a cooking themometer that is accurate. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees, and ready a sheet pan with a wire rack set inside.
In a large shallow dish, combine all of the dry ingredients (flour through onion powder) for the batter, using a wire whisk to stir. Lift the chicken pieces out of the marinade, dredge through the flour mixture, then repeat with another dip into the buttermilk marinade, and the flour again - this double dip is what gives the flaky crust such an incredible texture. Carefully lower no more than three pieces of chicken into the hot oil at a time, cooking for five minutes total, flipping once through. When done, place on the sheet pan and sprinkle with kosher salt.. Keep warm in the oven while you finish the rest of the chicken and make the sauces (below).
To serve, enjoy the chicken warm, room temerature, or even cold, drizzled with the hot honey and dipped into the siracha mayo. This also clearly makes a fabulous sandwhich!