This Nashville Hot Chicken is tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside with a slightly spicy sauce drizzled on top, served on bread.
A CRISPY NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN RECIPE
Hot chicken is a southern favorite. It was made famous in Nashville and now many of us are familiar with this special chicken recipe. This crispy fried chicken is covered with a deliciously spicy sauce and is absolutely scrumptious. And of course, no Nashville Hot Chicken is complete without a couple slices of pickles and a piece of white bread.
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.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- all-purpose flour, divided use
- salt and pepper
- blackened seasoning
- buttermilk or whole milk
- eggs
- Frank's Red Hot sauce
- cayenne pepper
- dark brown sugar
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- paprika
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN:
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Set aside. Make the chicken coating: You'll need three wide, shallow bowls. In one shallow bowl, pour in one cup all-purpose flour and mix it with salt and pepper. In a second shallow bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce. In a third shallow bowl, whisk together the other cup of all-purpose flour and blackened seasoning.
Start coating the chicken: Take one piece of dried chicken and place into first bowl of flour (that is seasoned with salt and pepper.) Shake off excess, then dip it into buttermilk mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl. Finally, dredge again into the final flour bowl (that is seasoned with the blackened seasoning).
Place prepared chicken on a baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the chicken breasts.
Heat up the oil: Using a heavy-bottomed pot or large cast iron skillet, pour in oil so it comes up about 3-4 inches inside the pot. Heat over medium-high heat until a heat-safe thermometer registers 325°.
Fry the chicken: Working in batches, fry 2-3 pieces of chicken at a time, turning occasionally.
The chicken coating should be deep golden brown and crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of pieces registers 160° for white meat and 165° for dark (about 15-18 minutes.)
Transfer cooked chicken to a clean wire rack set inside a baking sheet.
Prepare the Nashville Hot Sauce: Whisk together cayenne, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a medium bowl; carefully whisk in 1 cup frying oil. Cook's Notes: I usually just use the oil that I fried the chicken in after it has cooled slightly. Or you can use fresh oil. I like the added flavor the used oil gives the sauce.
Brush fried chicken with spicy oil or drizzle it on top.
Serve with sliced white bread and sliced pickles on top.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES? GIVE THESE A TRY!
Nashville Hot Chicken (+Video)
Ingredients
for the chicken:
- 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (divided use)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon blackened seasoning
- 1 cup buttermilk or whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons Frank's Red Hot sauce
- 8-10 cups peanut oil (for frying)
for the Nashville Hot Sauce
- 1 cup peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- white bread and sliced pickles, for serving
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Set aside.
- Make the chicken coating. You'll need three wide, shallow bowls. In one shallow bowl, pour in one cup all-purpose flour and mix it with salt and pepper.
- In a second shallow bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce.
- In the third shallow bowl, whisk together the other cup of all-purpose flour and blackened seasoning
- Start coating the chicken: Take one piece of patted-dry chicken and place into first bowl of flour (that is seasoned with salt and pepper.) Shake off excess.
- Then dip chicken into buttermilk mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl.
- Finally, dredge chicken piece again into the final flour bowl (that is seasoned with the blackened seasoning.) Place prepared chicken on a baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the chicken breasts.
- Using a heavy-bottomed pot or large cast iron skillet, pour in oil so it comes up about 3-4 inches inside the pot. Heat oil over medium-high heat until a heat-safe thermometer registers 325°.
- Working in batches, fry 2-3 pieces of chicken at a time, turning occasionally.
- Fry until it is deep golden brown and crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of pieces registers 160° for white meat and 165° for dark (about 15-18 minutes.)
- Transfer cooked chicken to a clean wire rack set inside a baking sheet.
- Prepare the Nashville Hot Sauce: Whisk together cayenne, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a medium bowl; carefully whisk in 1 cup of the oil you just fried the chicken in.
- Brush fried chicken with prepared sauce (or our it over the chicken).
- Serve chicken on sliced white bread and pickle slices.
Video
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Cathy Wilhoite
Great taste. Just a little confused about the two different flours. Why not just make the one with the blackened season. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in the blackened flour, dip in egg and back in the blackened seasoned flour? I’ll cut back on the brown sugar. A little too sweet for me
Brandie @ The Country Cook
You could absolutely do that but it would overwhelm the other tastes & we want to taste all of it. Not just one flavor over another but that’s entirely up to the cook. Glad you loved the taste!
Elizabeth
I did a double-take both at the hot chicken and at the mention of the moscato wine. Winner!
I've got a recipe that was originally for salmon poached in champagne (sounds a lot more fancy and complicated than it is -- just some sprigs of fresh tarragon, a cut-up onion, some capers and a twist of lemon juice, plus a bottle of champagne/sparkling wine to cook it in) that I've re-adapted to use a moscato asti. Adds a lovely and slightly sweet flavor that complements the salmon beautifully.
Because of that, I've been on the lookout for other salmon recipes that use white wine so I could try using moscato instead. I'm not sure about white fish or catfish, but two thumbs up for pairing moscato with salmon -- both for cooking and drinking (although tbh, we prefer the sparkling asti moscato with fish.)
IDK if you're looking for other ways to use moscato, but if you run across any with salmon you want to try to adapt, I'd be thrilled and tickled pink and happy to try it!
Engy Bastoros
I tried it and it was a hit . Thanks for this amazing recipe
Brad T.
If you add some cornstarch to the dredge you'll get a super crunchy skin.
Felicia
Loved this chicken! Made my own blackened seasoning since I didn’t have any on hand, but other than that, followed this recipe exactly. We decided we wanted the chicken spicier, so we probably tripled the cayenne pepper after taste testing the first piece. It was a hit with the family! Spicy, crispy crust, tender and juicy in the middle- yum! Bonus: used the remaining flour/egg wash and fried some hamburger dill slices. Delicious fried pickles!
Pansy
Definitely going to make! Love your recipes, Brandie!!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
So sweet! Thanks so much Pansy!
Donald Weaver
Where do I find the Blackened seasoning ???
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Hey Donald! Zatarain's makes a brand of blackened seasoning but there are other brands out there too. But it would be located in the spice section of your grocery store (near the steak and chicken seasonings.) Hope that helps!!
Gina
That looks fantastic and altho I am not a fan of sweet wines, in general, I agree that serving them with a spicy dish is great! I printed this out and I'm all ready to fry!
Brandie @ The Country Cook
Hope you love it Gina! I love sweet wines but I didn't find this over-the-top sweet. It was just enough to balance out the spiciness of the chicken. 🙂