Ultra crispy fried chicken smothered in a buttery hot sauce. This KFC copycat recipe takes finger-licking good chicken to the next level! Serve with mashed potatoes, or mac and cheese for the perfect meal.
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 there, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t have its own version of this spicy dish.
Origin: Andre Prince Jeffries owner of Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack is widely credited with inventing the dish.
There is a reason this chicken is sweeping across the country like wildfire; 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.
Get your taste buds ready, this recipe is popping! Serve with white bread and pickles for a traditional Southern dish.
Save this recipe as this sauce is also great on shrimp, crab, and fried pickles!
A fun twist: We also love is making it into a sandwich to use up leftovers (If you have any!).
What is Nashville Hot Chicken?
You may be asking yourself what the heck is this, and why is it so special?
This dish is typically made with a spicy breading and then topped with a buttery hot sauce on top. The decedent sauce is what differentiates it from your typical buffalo chicken that is coated in just hot sauce.
If you want to do it like they do in Nashville, then it would be dunked, into a container of hot sauce. The chicken is often served on top of one to two pieces of white bread and pickles to balance out this heat. This also allows the bread to soak up all the tasty saucy goodness. -praise hands emoji-
Why I Love This Recipe
- Tender Chicken: The buttermilk marinade (naturally acidic) breaks down the muscle fibers and leads to juicy tender chicken every time.
- Crispy: The double flour dredge makes the coating super crunchy.
- Layers of Flavor: We season every layer (marinade, buttermilk, and flour) to ensure flavor in every bite.
Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips
- Chicken: Look for mixed chicken pieces in your grocery’s meat section. Or use your favorite piece for your own customized bucket of chicken!
- Hot Sauce: I used Frank’s Red Hot, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Buttermilk: This leads to super tender chicken. If you don’t have buttermilk make your own with 1 tablespoon of vinegar (or lemon juice) per 1 cup of milk.
- Oil: Always fry with a neutral oil with a high smoke point. I used vegetable oil. Canola oil, peanut oil, or even lard could also be used.
How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken
- Make the spice rub: Combine all spices.
- Make the Marinade: Combine buttermilk, bay leaves, and some of the spice mixture. Coat chicken and soak for at least 3 hours.
- Set up a breading station: Lay out buttermilk mixture, and flour mixture in separate shallow dishes. Be sure to shake off excess flour so you don’t transfer it to your wet mixture.
- Bread Chicken: Dip in flour, buttermilk, and then flour again.
- Fry: Fry for 7 minutes per side.
- Make the Hot Sauce: Combine all ingredients except the butter. Whisk in butter just before serving, and then drizzle over chicken.
Tips For Success
- Use room temperature chicken: Allow raw chicken to sit out for 20-30 minutes. This leads to even cooking, and super crispy skin.
- Rest chicken: Allow breaded chicken to rest before frying as well. I like to bread chicken, and then heat the oil up while it rests.
- Don’t overcrowd your pot, or your chicken won’t get crispy. Limit yourself to 3-4 pieces at a time max.
- Drop away from you: Always add chicken into the pot away from yourself to avoid any potential oil splashback.
- Use Thermometers: Ensure your oil remains at the right temp by using a deep-fry thermometer. Always cook chicken until it registers 165 degrees F in the thickest part.
- Wet Hand Dry Hand: Use one hand for dry dipping, and one for wet dipping. This will stop you from breading your fingers!
- Keep warm: Heat your oven to 200 degrees F. Keep the first batches of chicken warm while you fry the rest.
- 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!
Leftovers
1. Storage: Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
2. Reheat: Reheat in a 425-degree oven for 5-7 minutes.
Serve With
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits Perfectly flaky!
Mashed Potatoes So creamy!
Bacon and Cheese Mashed Potato Cakes
Southern Mac and Cheese Rich and creamy!
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Nashville Hot Chicken
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 Marinade
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.
Notes
- Chicken: Look for mixed chicken pieces in your grocery's meat section. Or use your favorite piece for your own customized bucket of chicken!
- Hot Sauce: I used Frank's Red Hot, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk make your own with 1 tablespoon of vinegar (or lemon juice) per 1 cup of milk.
- Use room temperature chicken (allow to sit out for 20-30 minutes). This leads to even cooking, and super crispy skin.
- Allow breaded chicken to rest before frying as well. I like to bread chicken, and then heat the oil up while it rests.
- Don't overcrowd your pot, or your chicken won't get crispy. Limit yourself to 3-4 pieces at a time max.
- Use Thermometers: Ensure your oil remains at the right temp by using a deep-fry thermometer. Always cook chicken until it registers 165 degrees F in the thickest part.
- Hands: Use one hand for dry dipping, and one for wet dipping. This will stop you from breading your fingers!
- Heat your oven to 200 degrees F. Keep the first batches of chicken warm while you fry the rest.
Let know what you think