Pairs well with Nashville Hot Chicken
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Nashville Hot Chicken
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A homemade version of Nashville hot chicken inspired by the original Princes and Hattie Bees styles, featuring juicy buttermilk-brined chicken with a shatteringly crisp crust and a flavorful, ultra-spicy cayenne-based seasoning mud, served on white bread with spicy pickles.
00:45:00 total
Serves 4
medium
Main Various
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Ingredients
- chicken tenders - watch the video to see (for frying)
- buttermilk - enough to cover chicken (for brining the chicken)
- hot sauce - watch the video to see (added to brine for flavor and heat)
- pickle juice - watch the video to see (added to brine for flavor)
- salt - about 1 tablespoon plus to taste (added to brine and spice mix)
- all-purpose flour - watch the video to see (for breading, 2 parts)
- corn starch - watch the video to see (for breading, 1 part)
- baking powder - 1-2 teaspoons (for breading mix)
- white pepper - watch the video to see (for breading spice mix)
- ground ginger - about 1/4 teaspoon (for breading spice mix)
- cayenne pepper - watch the video to see (for breading spice mix and mud)
- paprika - watch the video to see (for color and flavor in breading and mud)
- ground mustard - watch the video to see (for breading spice mix)
- garlic powder - about 1 teaspoon (for breading spice mix and mud)
- onion powder - about 1 teaspoon (for breading spice mix and mud)
- MSG - watch the video to see (optional, for breading spice mix and mud)
- brown sugar - watch the video to see (for mud to balance heat)
- freshly ground black pepper - watch the video to see (for mud)
- peanut oil - enough for deep frying (for frying, mixed 50/50 with lard)
- lard - enough for deep frying (for frying, mixed 50/50 with peanut oil)
- egg - 1 (for dredging liquid)
- white bread slices - watch the video to see (for serving, thick sliced Texas toast style)
- pickles - watch the video to see (homemade spicy pickles with jerk spices)
- vinegar - watch the video to see (for pickling liquid, 50/50 vinegar to water with white wine vinegar)
- water - watch the video to see (for pickling liquid)
- honey - about 1/2 cup (for pickling liquid sweetness)
- scotch bonnet or habanero peppers - watch the video to see (for pickling spice heat)
- scallions - watch the video to see (for pickling spice flavor)
- ground allspice - about 2 teaspoons (primary jerk spice for pickling)
- coriander seeds - about 1 tablespoon (for pickling spice)
- black peppercorns - about 1 tablespoon (for pickling spice)
- mustard seeds - about 1 tablespoon (for pickling spice)
- cinnamon stick - 1 stick (for pickling spice)
- juniper berries - about 1 tablespoon (for pickling spice)
- bay leaves - 2 leaves (broken in half for pickling spice)
- garlic cloves - watch the video to see (lightly smashed for pickling)
- food coloring - a few drops (optional, to imitate electric green pickle color)
Instructions
- Brine the Chicken: Combine buttermilk, hot sauce, pickle juice, and salt in a container. Submerge chicken tenders fully in the brine. Refrigerate and brine overnight or at least 4 hours.
- Prepare the Pickles: Thinly slice cucumbers using a mandolin. Rough chop scotch bonnet or habanero peppers and scallions. Combine vinegar, water, white wine vinegar, honey, salt, sugar, and food coloring in a pot and bring to a simmer. Add all pickling spices including allspice, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, juniper berries, bay leaves, smashed garlic cloves, chopped peppers, and scallions. Pour hot pickling liquid over cucumber slices and let sit for several hours or overnight.
- Make the Breading Mix: Whisk together flour and corn starch in a 2:1 ratio. Add baking powder, white pepper, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, paprika, ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and MSG. Mix well.
- Prepare the Dredging Liquid: Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour to the brine and whisk in an egg with a pinch of salt to create a thin batter, similar to heavy cream consistency.
- Bread the Chicken: Coat the chicken tenders first in the flour mix to create a dry layer that will help the breading stick. Then dip into the egg-flour batter. Finally, toss again in the dry breading mix, adding some of the batter to the dry mix to create clumps for extra crispiness.
- First Fry: Heat a 50/50 mixture of peanut oil and lard to 300-325°F (149-163°C). Fry the breaded chicken tenders for about 5 minutes until golden blonde and cooked through. Remove and drain.
- Prepare the Spice Mud: Mix cayenne pepper (majority), ground paprika, MSG, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar (about 2:1 spice to sugar ratio), freshly ground black pepper, and salt. Adjust cayenne to desired heat level.
- Second Fry: Increase oil temperature to 350-365°F (177-185°C). Double fry the chicken tenders to achieve an ultra-crispy crust. Remove and drain.
- Bloom the Spices: Pour some hot oil over the prepared spice mud to toast and bloom the flavors.
- Apply the Spice Mud: While the chicken is still hot, brush the spicy oil mud generously over the chicken tenders.
- Assemble and Serve: Place the hot chicken tenders on thick slices of white bread (Texas toast style). Serve with the spicy homemade pickles on the side.
