Nashville Hot Chicken KFC Copycat: Ultra crispy fried chicken smothered in a buttery hot sauce. This takes finger licking good chicken to the next level!
Nashville is known as the country music capital of the world. But that’s not all!. Nashville hot chicken is taking the country by storm. If you go to Nashville, you’ll be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t have their own version of spicy dish. It’s so popular that there is even a KFC Nashville hot chicken recipe. Once you’ve made it onto the KFC menu, you’re like chicken royalty. #ChickenRoyalty
Get your taste buds ready, this recipe is popping!
Goes great with:
Bacon and Cheese Mashed Potato Cakes
What is Nashville Hot Chicken?
You may be asking yourself what the heck is Nashville chicken, and why is it so special?
Nashville Hot Chicken is typically very crunchy. The double layer of breading leads to an ultra crispy skin. Also, the chicken is covered in a spicy rub mixture. This mixture can be altered to your tastes, though it is common for it to be very spicy!
Finally, there is a sauce that can be brushed on.If you want to do it like they do in Nashville, then it would be dunked, into a container of the hot sauce. The chicken is often served on top of one to two pieces of white bread. This allows the bread to soak up all the tasty saucy goodness. -praise hands emoji- I also like to put a few dill pickles on top to complete the dish. You could use a sweet pickle if you’d prefer, but for authentic Nashville hot chicken it has to be dill. Love Nashville hot chicken? Also, be sure to check out our Nashville Chicken Dip.
What Is Nashville Hot Chicken Sauce?
The Nashville hot chicken sauce is made with cayenne pepper. It also has brown sugar, hot sauce and either butter, oil or lard. In the recipe I’ll be sharing, we’ll be using butter. Personally, I like it better flavorwise than the other two. I mean let’s be honest everyone has dreamed of dipping something fried in more butter right?! Right?!
The fried chicken is dunked into the sauce ,or it can be served on the side for dipping. Heck, you could even do both. This sauce packs a punch so here’s a tip: If your mouth is sensitive to the heat, have a glass of milk with your chicken. The milk will help cool down your mouth, so you can go back for seconds obviously!
How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken
First, let’s start with our spice rub mixture. The rub is made up of several spices including paprika and cayenne pepper. Mix all ingredients listed below together. This rub is amazing and provides a great fiery flavor! It is hot chicken after all!
Then, we’ll make the marinade with a bit of the spice mixture, buttermilk ,and bay leaves. This is our marinade that we’ll soak the chicken in. Make sure to evenly coat the chicken It should soak for 3 hours up to overnight.
When you’re ready to cook you’ll remove another small portion of the spice rub and put it into a bowl to make your hot sauce. Along with the rub, add all sauce ingredients to the bowl except the butter.
Next, it is time to bread the chicken. Start by mixing together your buttermilk wash. Then, prepare your flour mixture. Now it’s time to dredge and bread! Here’s another tip to help keep things from getting too messy. Use one hand for dry ingredients and your other hand for the wet ingredients. Take a piece of chicken and roll it in the flour, making sure to get in all the little crevices. Shake off any excess flour so it don’t transfer into your wet mixture.
With your other hand, take the chicken and slosh it into the wet mix. Once you’ve coated it, switch back to your dry hand and roll it into the dry mix again. After you’ve completed that process put it on a baking sheet until all pieces are breaded. That way we can grab and go when we fry!
Now time for my favorite part: the frying! Put the specified amount of oil in your dutch oven ,and heat it to 375 degrees. Don’t put all of your chicken in at once, just add three or four pieces at a time. Cook it for seven minutes ,,and then flip it over and cook for five to seven more minutes. Make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165 degrees to ensure it is fully cooked.
Put the chicken on paper towels to drain. Finally, mix the butter into your hot sauce. When it’s ready, just brush it on your chicken or you can dunk it. Or both! I won’t judge!
Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
A fun twist for your Nashville hot chicken is to make it into a sandwich. It is also great for using up leftovers, if you have any!
Nashville Hot Chicken Trivia Tidbits:
- Nashville Hot Chicken is traditionally served with white bread and pickles.
- Andre Prince Jeffries owner of Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack is widely credited with inventing the dish.
Tips For Success:
- This sauce is also great on shrimp, crab, and fried pickles! Yum!
- Don’t over crowd your pot, or you chicken won’t get crispy. Limit yourself to 3-4 pieces at a time max.
- Always add chicken into the pot away from yourself to avoid any potential oil splash back.
Shopping Tips:
- Look for mixed chicken pieces in your grocery’s meat section.
- You can use your favorite hot sauce here, but I used Frank’s Red Hot.
There is a reason this chicken is sweeping across the country like wild fire; because it has a unique flavor. KFC seems to keep teasing us with Limited Edition releases so I decided to make a DIY version. If you want a taste of the south just make this recipe and you’ll be transported to middle Tennessee with the very first bite.guarantee it.
Nashville Hot Chicken KFC Copycat
Ingredients
- 4-5 Pounds Bone In Mixed Chicken Pieces
- Vegetable Oil For Frying
For the Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 Cups Buttermilk
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Spice Rub See Below
- 2 Bay Leaves
For the Spice Rub
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano Dried
- 1 Teaspoon Basil Dried
- 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- For the Buttermilk Egg Wash
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- ¼ Cup Hot Sauce
For the Breading
- 3 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- Remaining Spice Rub Reserve 1 Teaspoon For the Sauce (See Above)
For the Nashville Hot Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Butter Melted
- 1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Spice Rub See Above
- ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ¾ Cup Vegetable Oil
Instructions
For the Spice Rub
- In a small bowl, combine all spice rub ingredients.
For the Marinade
- In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, bay leaves, and 1 ½ tablespoons of the spice rub you just made. Add chicken until well coated. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.
For the Hot Sauce
- In a medium bowl combine, 1 teaspoon of the spice rub, and all remaining hot sauce ingredients except for the butter.
For the Breading/Egg Wash
- In a large shallow dish, combine eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce.
- In a separate shallow dish, combine flour, baking powder, and remaining spice rub in a large bowl.
- Dredge chicken in flour, then buttermilk, and then flour again. Place on a baking sheet until ready to fry.
Frying
- In a large dutch oven heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F. Cook 3-4 pieces at a time for 7 minutes per side, or until chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Add butter to prepared sauce, whisk until smooth.
- Cool for 2-3 minutes before brushing on sauce.
Nutrition
Nashville Hot Chicken Adapted via Carlsbad Cravings
Craving more?
Fiesta Lime Chicken (Applebees Copycat)
Great Side Dishes:
Garlic Mashed Potatoes via Small Town Woman
Copycat KFC Potato Wedges via Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
KFC Coleslaw via Blog Chef
Copycat KFC Biscuits via 4 Sons R Us
What do you think of this Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe?
Let know what you think