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Tennessee Hot Chicken

Source of Recipe

From "Fried Chicken" by Jessica Lang


Recipe Introduction

"It's widely known that a few restaurants in Nashville, Tennessee, serve insanely hot and spicy chicken. Rumors of sweating, crying, screaming, and many other kinds of reactions abound. When this chicken hits the hot oil, you'll know immediately that it's got some heat because it's tough to even inhale near the fryer. The pickles cut the heat a little and the white bread is perfect for loading up extra hot sauce."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
â—¦ 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons garlic powder
â—¦ 1 tablespoon onion powder
â—¦ 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
â—¦ 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
â—¦ 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt
â—¦ 2 ¼ cups hot sauce, such as Tabasco
â—¦ 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
â—¦ Vegetable oil, for frying
â—¦ 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ 2 cups buttermilk

Nashville Hot Sauce:
â—¦ 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
â—¦ 5 tablespoons cayenne pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons chipotle chile powder

â—¦ Dill hamburger pickles, for serving
â—¦ Sliced white bread, for serving


Recipe

To make the marinade, whisk 2 tablespoons of the cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of the garlic powder, the onion powder, 1 tablespoon of the paprika, the chile powder, 1 ½ teaspoons of the salt, and 1 cup of the hot sauce in a bowl.

Place the chicken thighs in a large zip-top bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and rub to coat the chicken. Double bag the meat with another large zip-top (the aroma of the marinade is strong), seal, and refrigerate for 12 hours.

In a deep fryer or large, deep stockpot, heat 3 inches of vegetable oil over high heat to 335° F. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.

In a bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups of the flour, 6 tablespoons of the cayenne pepper, and 1 ½ teaspoons of the salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the remaining 1 ¼ cups of the hot sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 4 cups of flour, 3 tablespoons of cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of paprika, and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder.

Remove the pieces from the zip-top bag, discarding the marinade. Dredge each thigh in the first flour mixture, dip in the buttermilk mixture, and dredge in the second flour mixture. Once all thighs have been coated, carefully place them in the hot oil. Depending on the size of your fryer, you may need to fry in two batches. Fry for 16 to 18 minutes, or until dark brown and juices run clear. Maintain a frying temperature of 325° to 335° F. Drain the chicken on the wire rack.

To make the hot sauce, carefully ladle ¾ cup of the frying oil into a small heatproof bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar, cayenne pepper, paprika, and chile powder.

Immediately before serving the chicken, liberally brush each thigh with the hot sauce. Stir the sauce after brushing each piece to keep the spices from falling to the bottom. Serve with pickle slices and white bread.

Serves 4