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Easy Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe

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 and pan frying some chicken!
A Nashville hot chicken sandwich is one of my favorite things on earth. No joke, I made the greatest tasting sandwich I have ever had! Better than any restaurant I have had, it was absolutely incredible.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American, Southern
Keyword: Hot Chicken, Nashville Hot, Nashville Hot Chicken
Servings: 4 people
Cost: 25

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.
    Best Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich Recipe

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.
    Best Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe 6

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