Nashville Hot Chicken

There’s good and then there’s great. Nothing beats Nashville hot chicken when it comes to great fried chicken. The best, light, crunchy coating that you can imagine. Tender, moist chicken. And of course, heat. Plenty of heat. I could make and eat Nashville hot chicken any day of the week.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken, deep-fried, spicy

Prep Time 12

Cook Time 30

Total Time 12 30

Servings servings

Calories 532kcal

Author Mike

Equipment

Ingredients

For the dry brine

3 pounds chicken cut into pieces. I used chicken wings, separated into flats and drumettes
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper

For the dip

1 cup milk I used buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce

For the dredge

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Kosher salt

For frying

Vegetable oil

For the spicy coating

½ cup hot frying oil from when you cooked the chicken
1-3 tablespoons cayenne pepper I used 2 and found the flavor to be perfect, and not too terribly hot
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Kosher salt
ground black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder

For serving

6 dill pickle chips
6 slices White bread

Instructions

For the dry brine

Season chicken and place into a baggie or resealable container.
Seal and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

For the dip

Whisk together the milk, eggs and hot sauce in a pie pan or shallow bowl.

For the dredge

Whisk together the flour and salt in a pie pan or shallow bowl.

For frying

Heat a few inches of oil (enough to cover the chicken) in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 325 F.
Working in batches, dredge the chicken in the flour. Shake off excess.
Dip chicken into the milk mixture. Shake off the excess.
Return the chicken to the flour and dredge again. Shake off excess.
Transfer chicken to the hot oil and fry until done (165 F internal temperature), flipping occasionally, 10-15 minutes.
Place on a rack to cool and drain. (I kept my chicken in a hot warming drawer while I finished cooking the rest of the chicken.)

For the spicy coating

When you're done frying the chicken, ladle 1/2 cup of the hot oil into a small saucepan and whisk in the spicy coating ingredients.
Brush mixture over the chicken. The more you brush on, the hotter it'll be.

For serving

Serve with dill pickle and white bread slices, if desired.

Notes

Use your favorite chicken cuts.

Nutrition