Nashville Hot Chicken

I've never been to Nashville and I'm not really a country music fan so it's never been high on my list of places to visit but now that I've tried hot chicken, I really want to go. Last year, I had hot chicken at Royal's in Louisville and it was fantastic and I've been daydreaming about it since. I finally buckled down and gave it a go at home and it actually turned out really good. My sister had just gotten back from trying Royals and she said my version was delicious so I feel like that's a pretty good seal of approval.

I feel like it's a dish that kind of has summer vibes because it goes so well with slaw, but honestly, who wants to stand in front of a screaming hot pan of oil when it's hot outside? But now that it's chilly, I actually relish my time in a hot kitchen making hot chicken.

Ingredients [serves 6]:
fried chicken
2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon hot sauce (Texas Pete's)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup flour
+ oil for frying

spicy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon minced dried onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup fry oil

cabbage slaw
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
¼ onion, thinly sliced
6 to 8 cilantro sprigs, chopped
6 to 8 bread & butter pickles, chopped
2 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons pickle brine
1 tablespoon hot sauce (Texas Pete's)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Start by seasoning the chicken generously with salt and pepper and then leave the thighs to chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

Set up a breading station. In one bowl, whisk together milk, egg, hot sauce, and vinegar. In a second vessel, just pour out a whole bunch of flour.

Give the chicken a bath in the egg mixture and then coat with flour. Shake off the excess.

Shallow fry the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on each side in a skillet filled with about 1-inch of oil heated to 350F. Keep the heat at medium high to make sure it stays pretty hot. Once the chicken is fried through, raise the heat to high and get the oil up to 400F and fry the chicken a second time for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side to get a good crunch on the breading. Drain the chicken on a wire rack.

While the chicken is frying, assemble the slaw. Basically, just mix together all of the ingredients and let it marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes so the flavors can develop and penetrate the cabbage.

The thing that sets hot chicken apart from fried chicken or saucy chicken is that the sauce is made from dry spices and a bit of the hot fry oil. The oil is crucial here because it helps maintain the crispiness of the chicken. That's why chicken wings start off crispy but end up getting kind of soggy because there's watery moisture in the sauce that saturates and softens the breading and skin.

Add all of the spices and garlic to a saucepan and add enough (still hot, 350F) oil to saturate, about ¼ cup. The hot oil will bloom the spices, which just means extracting the essential oils and intensifying their flavor.

Brush the still-hot chicken generously on both sides with the seasoned oil.

Serve the chicken on white bread, for that authentic aesthetic, with the slaw, bread & butter pickles, and if you have time to whip up a quick mac & cheese, that's a great side as well.

The chicken is so crispy and the seasoned oil is fantastic. It's got levels of flavor and hits so many of the tastebud zones. The slaw adds crunch and acidity and bite, the pickles do a similar thing but in a slightly different way, and all together, it's just a delicious meal. I'm actually kind of upset while putting together this blog post because I really want to eat this again, like right now.

Here are the recipe pages: