Make Spicy and Crunchy Nashville Hot Chicken at Home

If you’ve never heard of Nashville hot chicken, get ready to be blown away. The tasty meat is usually served with white bread that soaks up all the juices and a few slices of pickles for that tangy flavor. Learn how to make the recipe, and be ready for all your friends to ask you about it.

What Is Nashville Hot Chicken?

Nashville hot chicken is specifically coated in a spicy mixture and then deep fried, and there are different levels of heat. This is different from Buffalo chicken.

Buffalo chicken is usually more buttery and tangy, and less spicy — while Nashville chicken is spicier and a bit drier because of the ground spices.

How to Make It

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups whole buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1/4 cup dill pickle juice, plus dill pickle slices for serving (from 1 [16-ounce] jar)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 2 (10-ounce) boneless, skin-on chicken breasts, halved crosswise
• 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
• Canola oil
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons MSG (optional)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white rice flour
• Sliced white bread

Directions:

1. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, hot sauce, pickle juice, honey, and 3 tablespoons of salt together. Coat the chicken with the mixture, cover, and put in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
2. Heat canola oil over medium-high heat to 335°F. In the meantime, take the chicken out of the refrigerator and keep it covered. Then, line two baking sheets with wire racks.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°F. While the oil is still heating, mix brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, MSG, and 2 teaspoons of salt in a separate heatproof bowl.
4. In another bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt. Add 4 tablespoons of buttermilk mixture and stir to form small clumps. Working in batches, remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture and put it in the flour mixture. Make sure it’s fully coated on both sides, then place it on one of the baking sheets.
5. When the oil reaches 335°F, add a few pieces of the chicken and cook, turning twice. Wait until the meat gets that deep brown color, or 8 to 9 minutes for thighs and 10 minutes for breasts. Place on the second baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven. This way, the chicken will stay warm while you fry the rest of the pieces.
6. Once everything is cooked, pour 1 cup of the hot frying oil into the cayenne mixture and stir. Dip every piece of chicken, serve on white bread, and add pickle slices on top.