Nashville Hot Chicken

About This Recipe

Nashville hot chicken is fried chicken pushed to its logical extreme: brined, double-dredged, fried until mahogany, then brushed with a paste of cayenne and spices bloomed in hot frying fat. That oil-based glaze is the defining move, soaking heat into the crust without softening it, and it scales from mild to the punishing extra-hot served in Nashville shacks. The dish traces back to Prince's Hot Chicken Shack and a revenge story from the 1930s. This version works because the buttermilk brine seasons the meat deep, the crust is fried hot enough to stay crackly under the spicy oil, and brown sugar in the paste rounds the cayenne so the burn builds instead of slapping.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3.5 lbsbone-in chicken pieces(thighs, drumsticks, and breasts)
• 2 cupsbuttermilk
• 2 tbsphot sauce (such as Frank's RedHot)
• 2 tbspdill pickle brine
• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1 tspgarlic powder
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspkosher salt
• 1 qtpeanut oil(for deep-frying)
• 3 tbspcayenne pepper(reduce to 1 tbsp for medium heat)
• 2 tbsppacked brown sugar
• 1 tspchili powder
• 8 sliceswhite sandwich bread(for serving)
• 1 cupdill pickle chips(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare

   Brine chicken pieces in buttermilk, salt, hot sauce, and pickle juice for at least 4 hours or overnight; the acid and salt season the meat through and keep it juicy at high frying temperatures.

2. 2

   Cook

   Dredge in seasoned flour, back into the buttermilk, then flour again, pressing hard so a thick, shaggy crust forms. Rest the coated pieces 10 minutes on a rack while the oil heats.

   Drizzle a spoonful of buttermilk into the dredge flour and toss; those little clumps fry into extra-crunchy shards.

3. 3

   Combine

   Fry at 325F for 14 to 18 minutes for bone-in pieces, turning once, until deep golden and the thickest piece reads 165F internally. Hold finished pieces on a rack in a warm oven.

   Dark meat is forgiving here; thighs and drumsticks stay moist through the long fry that the crust needs.

4. 4

   Serve

   Whisk a half cup of the hot frying oil into cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and salt, then brush the paste generously over every surface. Serve on white bread with dill pickle chips.

Variations

• •

  Make hot chicken tenders or a fried chicken sandwich with the same brine, dredge, and spice oil.

• •

  Swap in smoked paprika and chipotle powder for a smokier, slower-building heat.

• •

  Do a honey-hot version by whisking two tablespoons of honey into the spice oil for sweet heat.

• •

  Air-fry or oven-fry the chicken at 400F and brush with spiced oil made on the stovetop for a lighter take.

Storage

Refrigerate leftover chicken up to 3 days and re-crisp in a 400F oven for 12 to 15 minutes; keep extra spice oil in a jar at room temperature for a day or refrigerated for a week. Fried pieces freeze for 2 months before saucing.

Frequently Asked Questions