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–+ servings

Nashville Hot Chicken

Danielle Dunn
Crispy fried chicken topped with a fiery hot sauce.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Marinating time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 8 pieces

Ingredients
  

  • Vegetable or canola oil for frying

Marinade

  • 3 lbs. or 8 whole chicken pieces legs, thighs, breast, wings
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 tbsp. kosher sauce
  • 1/4 cup pickle juice
  • 1/2 cup hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp. kosher salt

Flour mixture

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. corn starch
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tbsp. seasoning salt or all-purpose seasoning
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 tsp. onion powder
  • 2 tsp. paprika

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp. paprika
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. chili powder

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, add chicken pieces, buttermilk, pickle juice, hot sauce and salt. Use hand or spoon to mix together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  • To prepare the flour mixture, in a shallow dish, thoroughly mix all-purpose flour, corn starch, sea salt, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Remove a chicken piece from marinade and toss chicken in flour until thoroughly coated. Place on a rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces. Let coated chicken sit for 15-20 minutes before frying.
  • Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
  • Fill a large cast iron skillet a little over halfway with vegetable oil. Over medium-high, heat oil to 350 degrees. Carefully place chicken into hot oil, skin side down. Do not crowd pan. I typically do 3-4 pieces at a time. Fry for 8 minutes on each side, or until chicken has an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Place chicken on a clean wire rack and baking sheet. Repeat until all pieces are fried. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking oil. Place chicken in preheated oven to ensure chicken remains hot and crispy while you prepare the sauce.
  • To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan, add butter and reserved cooking oil. Add cayenne pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and chili powder. Heat over medium heat. Stir together until all of the oil is melted and everything is mixed. Turn off heat, but cover to keep sauce warm.
  • Remove chicken from oven, and brush on both sides with the sauce. Serve hot.

Notes

  • Ensure the heat on your oil does not drop below 325 degrees.  This can be checked using an instant read thermometer.
  • This recipe has a pretty high level of spice.  If you are not fan of spicy, you can reduce the amount of cayenne pepper you use.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!