Nashville’s Hottest Hot Chicken at Home

You guessed it, I’m back in the studio to recreate Nashville’s hot chicken. This dish has the kind of spice you can’t stop devouring and now you have the recipe so you can make it whenever you like thanks to our friends in Nashville.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, cut into 2 halves (or 1kg tenders, or both)
• around 30g (1.05 oz) salt in total
• ground black pepper, around 12g (0.42 oz) total
• garlic powder, around 6g (0.21 oz) total
• cayenne pepper, around 20g (0.70 oz) total (more if you want it spicier)
• brown sugar, around 12g (0.42 oz) in total
• 600ml (20 fl oz) buttermilk
• 40ml (1.4 fl oz) hot sauce (vinegar-based like Tabasco)
• 2 eggs
• 200g (7 oz) lard (or beef tallow or rendered bacon fat)
• 180g (6.3 oz) flour
• 3L (101 fl oz) peanut oil for frying
• Sliced white bread, pickles, and fries to serve

Spice Lists:
Buttermilk marinade – 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Flour – 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Spicy oil – 8 tsp cayenne pepper, 3 tsp brown sugar, 3 tsp ground black pepper, 3 tsp smoked paprika

Method

1. Start by marinating the chicken. In a large bowl, mix together the buttermilk, hot sauce, 200ml water, eggs, and the buttermilk marinade spice list. Then add your chicken and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
2. For the coating, mix together the flour and the flour spice list. Remove the marinated chicken from the buttermilk, coat well in the seasoned flour, and leave for 20 minutes to hydrate and get as much flour stuck to the chicken as possible.
3. To cook the chicken halves, preheat your oil to 140°C (284°F). Cook in small batches to avoid overcrowding. Cook each half for 16 minutes, then remove and place onto a wire rack to cool for 20-30 minutes.
4. For the spicy oil, heat the lard in a small pot to 160°C (320°F). Place the spicy oil spice list in a heatproof bowl. Carefully pour the hot lard over the spices, stir well, and keep nearby for when your chicken comes out of the fryer.
5. Increase the oil temperature to 165°C (329°F) and continue to cook your chicken halves for 6-7 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oil, place onto a wire rack, and immediately brush liberally with the spicy oil.
6. If cooking tenders, cook them at 165°C (329°F) for 6-7 minutes, then follow the same procedure as with the chicken halves.
7. Serve the spicy fried chicken on sliced white bread with pickles on top and fries on the side.
8. Enjoy!