How do you make a Nashville hot chicken sandwich? Well it is actually pretty easy when you break it all down!
While making a Nashville hot chicken sandwich seems like a lot of ingredients… it really is just combing a few things into a bowl and pan frying some chicken!
A Nashville hot chicken sandwich is one of my favorite things on earth. No joke, I simply made the greatest tasting sandwich I have ever had! As good as any restaurant sandwich I have ever had and better than all of them but maybe two, it is absolutely incredible.
I lived in Nashville at one point and picked up some tips, as well as had some ideas that I thought could really help the taste, and it did! I have some great secrets to make sure you make this recipe has perfect as it can be!
How Do You Make Fried Chicken Without a Deep Fryer?
Do you need a deep fryer to make fried chicken? No you don’t, you can make fried chicken with a cast iron skillet really easy! Cast iron skillets are cheap too and can pick one up for $12-14 at a grocery store or on Amazon.
This recipe doesn’t use a deep fryer and it makes the best fried chicken you will ever have! You just need oil and a cast iron skillet!
How Do You Make The Best Fried Chicken?
What are the secrets to making the best Nashville Chicken Sandwich? Well, there are four things you have to do if you want to make the best sandwich you have ever had!
Use Quality Chicken
First you have to make sure you get some quality chicken. A nice thick piece is great and I even splurged at Whole Foods to make sure I got the best of the best.
Thicker thighs are ideal or medium size breasts. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the chicken quality, if you can at least.
Pickle Brine Your Chicken
Second, use pickle juice everywhere! Use pickle juice in the coleslaw, in the wet chicken bowl, it is amazing but do not stop there. You also should use it when you brine your chicken, as it is an absolute game changer!
The pickle brine method not only adds great flavor to the chicken it also tenderizes the meat and makes it some of the best chicken you will ever have.
Make A Hot Chicken Sauce Rub
Third, make sure you make the hot chicken sauce rub and apply it to the chicken. You may think it is flavorful enough just how it is cooked but this spice rub makes it absolutely unreal.
Make Your Own Coleslaw
Fourth, making your own coleslaw is so easy with just a couple of ingredients, per below, and it is so good! I don’t ever eat coleslaw and it is necessary for the best sandwich.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I loved making it because it was next level good. Top 3 chicken I have ever had next to my Pho recipe and Jamaican Brown Stewed Chicken recipe.
Easy Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For Chicken
- 4 thicker chicken thighs or medium chicken breasts or 2-3 lbs of wings, thighs & drumsticks if not making sandwich
- 3-4 cups vegetable oil pending size of cooking pot/pan - enough to cover half the chicken
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk sub whole milk
- 1/4 cup pickle brine optional
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch not necessary but makes it so much lighter & crispier
- 2 tbsp hot sauce Franks Red Hot or similar
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp chili powder Sub Tajin powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Spicy Oil Rub
- 1/2 cup leftover oil from cooking pot
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp honey Optional
Sandwich Toppings
- Buns, pickles, coleslaw, chipotle or spicy mayo, ranch.
Easy Coleslaw
- 12-14 oz bag of coleslaw mix
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp white vinegar sub pickle juice
- Salt & pepper to taste 1/2-1/4 tsp
Instructions
2-12 hour chicken brining
- Brine the chicken in a mixture of half pickle juice and half water with 1/4 cup of extra salt in the container. If not enough pickle juice you can just do salt and water.
Chicken Prep - Need 2 Bowls
- Bowl 1 - mix together, eggs, pickle brine, milk & hot sauce.Bowl 2 - Mix together flour, corn starch, chilli pepper, cayenne pepper.
- Take out chicken and bread it like so:1. Put chicken into milk mixture. 2. Then flour mixture.3. Back into milk mixture.4. Back into flour mixture so all is thoroughly breaded.5. Place chicken in separate bowl or plate.
Cooking Chicken
- Put oil into pot and turn up to medium heat. Cook chicken breast for 8-9 minutes per side with 1-2 pieces of chicken at a time.
Spicy Oil
- In a medium-large bowl that won't melt...
- Mix together hot oil, cayenne pepper, brown sugar chili pepper, honey, garlic powder and salt.Brush over chicken prior to serving.
Video
Made this tonight, was so good, I have ha a few of these sandwiches at restaurants and this one is just as good or better!