Directions Prepare Brine By Adding Salt And Sugar To Hot Water Allow To Cool Then Add Chicken Tenders Cover And Keep At Room Temperature For 30 Minutes Or Refrigerate Up To 6 Hours Combine Cornbread Mix Cornmeal Buttermilk Eggs Melted Butter And Molasses Or Maple Syrup In A Medium Bowl And Mix Until Smooth Fold In Cup Of Scallions And Set Aside For 10 Minutes Heat Cup Of Canola Oil In A Microwave
Chelsea Hanson won 3rd place in Lodge’s 2019 Cornbread Cook-off with her very own Nashville Hot Chicken and Cornbread Waffles.
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Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
If you are a fan of fried chicken and spice, you are going to love our Nashville hot chicken sandwich! Piled high with a simple, creamy sandwich slaw and crunchy pickles, then served on a toasted brioche bun. Make the hot honey sauce and coleslaw ahead of time, then fry chicken fresh to order. Finger licking good and so fun to serve to a crowd!
What Type Of Butter Is Best
All butter sold in the United States must contain a minimum of 80% milkfat, the white, frothy stuff that comes up when it is heated.
Grades, ranging from the best grade AA to grade B, are based on flavor, body, color and salt and water content. European butter will have more fat content and also more flavor with a darker yellow hue. Cultured butter has active cultures and will give it more of a tang, like buttermilk or yogurt.
Read Also: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Recipe
Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe
This is the ultimate Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe!! Spicy and crispy golden brown fried chicken gets an extra coating of hot spiced glaze taking it over the top. This tastes just as delicious as the Best Hot chicken in Nashville! Serve with Collard Greens or Mustard Greens and Baked Mac and Cheese for the best Nashville meal ever!
Fun Fact About How Nashville Hot Chicken Was Born
This recipe coincidently has a spicy history. A Casanova from Nashville named Thorton Prince left his wife at home one night and went out on the town. He came stumbling home in the wee hours of the morning. To punish him, his wife prepared his favorite fried chicken but tossed in an obscene amount of red-hot cayenne. To the chagrin of his wife, Thorton loved that hot chicken, and the family ended up opening the first hot chicken shack in Nashville. Over the years the dish has continued to grow in popularity.
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What Is Nashville Hot Sauce
Nashville Hot Sauce is a regional hot sauce made from cayenne pepper, other spices and brown sugar. Served on fried chicken to make Nashville Hot Chicken.
Have you ever been to Nashville? Hubby and I love it! We stay down on lower Broadway and hop from bar to bar listening to the stellar live music all day long.
Make sure you PIN Nashville Hot Sauce!
Add a few good ole southern iced teas, moonshine, BBQ and Nashville Hot Chicken and you have yourself a nice little weekend.
In fact, it has been nearly a year since we have been which means we are due for a trip. But since we have two little running around, Ill have to settle on making myself a Nashville reminiscent meal.
Why Is It Called Nashville Hot Chicken
Its a type of fried chicken that is well known in Nashville, Tennessee. Its typically prepared using a breast, thigh, or wing that has been brined and marinated and then floured, seasoned, and deep-fried. From there, you cover it in a paste or sauce that has been spiced with cayenne pepper.
The originator of hot chicken is the family of Andre Prince Jeffries, owner of Princes Hot Chicken Shack. She has operated the restaurant since 1980. Previously, it was owned by her great-uncle, Thornton Prince III.
Jeffries has mentioned the development of hot chicken was by accident. Her great-uncle Thornton was known as a womanizer, and after a late night, out his girlfriend at the time, cooked him fried chicken with extra pepper as revenge. Thornton actually liked the hot chicken. Later, he and his brothers created their own recipe and opened the BBQ Chicken Shack café.
Since the dish is traditionally fried with oil or grease, a portion of that grease is then used to make the spicy paste the chicken is coated in. This recipe is a lightened-up version that you will bake or air fry. Instead of using pan grease , we will use butter along with Louisiana Hot Sauce.
Also Check: Texas Pete Hot Sauce Walmart
How To Brine Chicken For Frying
Spicy or not, the best fried chicken recipes always start with a pickle juice brine. This sour and salty flavor creates pieces of chicken that are perfectly crispy fried on the outside and juicy on the inside. Do not skip this step!
How Do You Make Nashville Hot Chicken
Traditional hot chicken is made from whole chicken parts, marinated in a buttermilk and hot sauce brine, coated in a flour mixture, deep fried, and then slathered in a spicy red-hot paste. If youre in the market for a new deep fryer, here is a list of the top deep fryers this year.
Ive gone ahead and made my hot chicken sandwich with boneless chicken thighs and chicken breasts. This makes eating it easier as a sandwich, and reduces the cooking time. If youre using chicken breasts, I highly recommend cutting them into three pieces. Cut the chicken crosswise in half, then take the thicker top half of the chicken and cut it lengthwise, splitting the thickest part. This allows the chicken to cook faster and more evenly.
Follow this breading process for extra juicy, crispy hot chicken!
- Combine buttermilk, hot sauce, eggs, and salt in a large shallow dish.
- Combine flour, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper in another large shallow dish.
- Dip the chicken in the dry flour mixture to coat all sides.
- Then dip and flip the chicken in the buttermilk mixture.
- Dip the chicken back in the dry flour, creating a double coating. This will fry up slightly thicker and stay crisp when you brush the spicy sauce over it.
- Set aside on a large baking pan while you repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
Place the chicken on the bottom bun, brush the chicken with the spice paste, and then top with pickles and bun top.
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How To Make It
This sauce is SO easy to make. Which is great, because now I can whip it up in no time and always have a jar on hand! Trust me, once you make this sauce, youll be reaching for that jar all the time.
Melt and whisk. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and whisk in the cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Cook and stir. Cook and stir for 1 minute until all the ingredients are combined.
Enjoy! Pour the flavorful hot sauce over your favorite fried chicken recipe or use to coat grilled shrimp, steamed veggies or more!
How long will Nashville hot sauce stay fresh?
Make sure you store your hot sauce in an airtight container in the fridge! It will NOT stay fresh at room temperature.
In the fridge, this sauce will stay deliciously fresh for up to 2 weeks! That gives you plenty of time to plan exactly how many meals youre going to enjoy with it.
Can I adjust the levels of sweet and spicy?
Yes, and its so easy! While Ive added what I find to be the perfect levels of both sweet and spicy, I know that some people prefer one flavor over the other.
To add more sweetness, toss in an extra tablespoon of brown sugar. For more spice, add another tablespoon of cayenne pepper. However, just be careful when adjusting these ingredients! You can always add more of an ingredient, but you cant take it out once its stirred in. Taste test as you go!
What are the best ways to use Nashville hot sauce?
Questions You Might Have About How To Make Nashville Hot Sauce:
What makes it Nashville Hot Chicken? The preparation of the chicken, which is generally a buttermilk brined fried chicken, and of course, the sauce.
Many other hot sauces are simply ground chiles and a vinegar base, while Nashville hot sauce uses lard, oil or butter.
The cayenne pepper stays grainy instead of blended smooth. The other spices are proprietary to each restaurant or recipe. None of them are right or wrong, but personal preference.
Can I make it creamy? It really isnt a creamy sauce. If that is what you are looking for, try our horseradish sauce or one of our fabulous aiolis.
Do I have to use clarified butter? You dont have to and I know that step seems unnecessary, but getting all that butter fat out for a liquid gold is totally worth it for texture and flavor.
What flavor is Nashville Hot? It is a spicy chile powder flavor. Some are a little more sweet and others spicier. It depends on the recipe and all are acceptable.
What can I substitute for butter? Many Nashville joints dont use butter at all, they use vegetable or canola oil. You can use either.
What can I substitute for honey? You can omit the honey or substitute it with agave nectar.
What should I serve with my Nashville Hot Chicken? Traditional sides are the same for all BBQ. My favorite include:
- 1tablespoon honey , optional
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Tips For The Best Fried Chicken Sandwich
- Fry in hot oil! Wait to begin frying until the oil comes up to proper temperature . If you deep fry with cold oil, the food will be greasy nobody wants that!
- Use neutral or light oil! Do not deep fry in olive oil or extra virgin olive oil. Stick to lighter, neutral oils such as canola, grapeseed, peanut, corn, avocado, or vegetable oil.
- Drain the fried chicken! Once the chicken comes out of the oil, immediately transfer to a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet thats been lined with paper towels. This will both help to keep the chicken crispy and drain off excess, unwanted grease.
- If you prefer a spicier chicken sandwich, fully submerge the fried chicken thighs into the hot honey sauce instead of simply brushing the sauce on both sides.
Words cannot express how much our family loves this fried chicken sandwich recipe! The combination of unbelievably juicy, moist chicken thighs, that earth shatteringly crispy crunch, the cool, tangy coleslaw, and pickles is just the best. This is for sure a special occasion meal that your family will ask for again and again!
If you make this Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below! And if you absolutely loved this, you wont want to miss our chicken and waffles recipe!!
How To Make Nashville Hot Chicken
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Tips For Making Nashville Hot Chicken:
- You can use any cut of chicken you prefer. Bone-in chicken thighs are a great, cheaper alternative.
- Also, feel free to add more cayenne pepper to make it even hotter. I am a total wimp when it comes to spice so I am only using a tablespoon of cayenne pepper in my hot sauce. If you go to the famous Hattie B’s restaurant in Nashville, they use about 6 tablespoons of cayenne pepper just in their medium sauce! So my advice is to start with a little and add more until you get it to your preferred level of heat.
Get The Complete Mind
Use the tongs to carefully pull the chicken pieces from the hot oil and place them on the clean rack. Test the chicken with a meat thermometerthe largest pieces should be 165 degrees F inside.
Then place the fried chicken in the oven to keep warm and crisp.
Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces, continuing to place fried chicken on the rack in the oven as they are cooked. Turn off the stovetop heat as soon as all of the chicken is done.
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How To Make Hot Honey Chicken
Nashville Hot Chicken Wings Recipe
Posted by Jessica Pinney on January 13, 2017
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We became big Nashville hot fans while Janette was shooting at Hattie Bs in Nashville for Food Network.
I mean, delicious fried chicken brushed with the perfect spicy glazewhats not to love??
Last fall we put a twist on it and made Nashville Hot Softshell Crab. We were in love and decided all things should become Nashville Hot.
With the Superbowl coming up, I decided to put it into a bite-size snack suitable for a game day crowd.
Be sure to pair with pickles, white bread, plenty of beer, and lots of paper towels. ??
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Also Check: Where To Buy Rao’s Sauce
Tips For Making Boneless Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders
If youve never made fried chicken before, there are a few tips and tricks you need to know.
- Make an assembly line with your dishes in this order: marinating, breading/batter, and frying.
- As you lift a chicken tender out of the marinade, you can set it right into the breading, and then set it gently in the oil to fry.
- Designate one hand to be your messy hand and the other for frying.
- Only fry 3-4 pieces of chicken at a time. If you do more, it lowers the heat of the oil.
- For people who dont like spice, these chicken tenders are good alone. Serve one platter with plain chicken tenders and another with the Nashville Hot Chicken sauce.
- You can control the level of spice with the amount of cayenne you put in.
Spices Used In Nashville Hot Chicken
Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Ground Cayenne Pepper Cayenne is what brings the heat, in a pinch you could replace it with hot paprika
- Coconut Palm Sugar A traditional Nashville Hot Chicken recipe uses white sugar but I love the dark molasses flavor of coconut palm sugar in this recipe. You could replace it with brown sugar
- Garlic Powder Not garlic salt! Make sure your garlic powder is fresh and pungent, the good stuff!
- Sweet Paprika The earthy fruity note of paprika is the ultimate balancer in this recipe.
- Black Pepper Please use freshly ground black pepper, it makes a HUGE difference
- Sea Salt I used a slightly larger grain of sea salt for this recipe, but any sea salt will do
Also Check: Is Classico Alfredo Sauce Keto Friendly
Nashville Style Hot Chicken Spice Mix Recipe
Try this fiery spice mix to make Nashville Style Hot Chicken! With a wallop from cayenne pepper and the right touch of sweetness, this blend, without refined sugars, is guaranteed to bring the heat.
From the smoke of barbeque to the glorious, darkened roux that makes gumbo, the best dishes of the American south reflect its varied landscape, a love of spice, and just some good ole country cooking.
Nashville Hot Chicken is some exciting southern food. It has become a favorite of food lovers across the countrylast week on Top Chef a contestant made Hot tofu! And it is a shock, a thunderbolt of heat from the cayenne in this dish but somehow that is tempered enough by the crunchy exterior of the chicken, the addition of sugar, and the bird itself to give it a rather alluring and addictive quality. It is one of those punishing hot dishes that is unforgettable. It haunts you. After you have it you want to have it again.
In order to make Nashville Hot Chicken you first need this spice mix and it couldn’t be easier. Make a big batch because you’ll want to use it on everything!
Let’s get mixing!
