Easy Nashville Style Hot Chicken Food

CHEF JOHN'S NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Toss chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Transfer chicken to a bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Whisk buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg together in a mixing bowl. Pour marinade over chicken and stir to ensure each piece is thoroughly coated. Cover and let chicken marinate in refrigerator 2 to 4 hours.
• Mix flour and salt together in a shallow flat dish. Remove chicken from marinade and blot with paper towels. Reserve marinade. Toss chicken in flour until thoroughly coated. Return chicken to marinade, coating all sides; remove chicken from marinade allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Coat the chicken once again in flour mixture. Place on a rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces. Allow to sit out about 15 minutes to allow coating to dry out a bit.
• Place butter and lard in a large pot. Add cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Place over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until fats melt. Remove from heat; keep sauce warm.
• Fill cast iron skillet about 1/3 of the way with vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Carefully place chicken into hot oil, skin side down. Maintain an oil temperature of 325 degrees F, adjusting heat as need. Fry until instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
• Transfer chicken to a rack to drain. Brush with the sauce on both sides.

NASHVILLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the house hot sauce: Put the water, vinegar, dried chiles, cayenne pepper, garlic and crushed red pepper in a large pot over high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the chiles are re-hydrated and the garlic is slightly soft, about 30 minutes. Puree in a blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve and a let cool. Yield: 8 cups.
• For the mild lard: Render the lard in a large pot over low heat until liquid.
• Mix the cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic powder in a large bowl.
• Slowly whisk the brown sugar into the lard until smooth. Make sure to not let the temperature exceed 135 degrees F or the sugar will burn. Once the sugar is incorporated slowly whisk in the dry ingredients.
• For the chicken brine: Combine the milk, buttermilk and house hot sauce in a large bowl and whisk together. Add the chicken, slightly covering it. Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours.
• For the chicken dredge: Heat a deep fryer to 325 degrees F (or a large pot with oil). Combine the flour, kosher salt, onion powder, dried thyme, garlic powder, black pepper, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper and paprika together in a large bowl until completely incorporated. Coat your brined chicken in the dredge mix and fry, in batches, until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees F. Generously brush your fried chicken with the mild lard to coat. Serve.

NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Pour enough buttermilk over the chicken pieces to cover them and place in refrigerator at least 24 hours.
• Preheat a Dutch oven filled three-quarters of the way with peanut oil to 275 degrees F.
• Drain chicken in a colander, then coat chicken in enough seasoned flour to coat.
• Gently drop chicken into oil and cook until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, roughly 18 minutes. Set aside.
• For the sauce: Meanwhile, combine the canola oil, bacon fat, cayenne powders, sugar, pickle juice, paprika, garlic powder and chili powder together in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Gently pour 1 cup of the mixture over fried chicken and toss in a bowl, making sure to completely coat chicken (watch your eyes, this stuff is no joke!). (Save remaining sauce for another use.)
• Remove from bowl and enjoy!

NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Let oil cool: When all the chicken is finished, let the oil cool down for 5 to 10 minutes. You will need some of it to make the spicy paste.

NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN SANDWICH

Steps:

• For the slaw: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage, carrots and shallot. Stir until evenly coated. Set aside while you prepare the chicken. The longer the slaw sits, the better it gets.
• For the hot chicken: Heat 4 inches of vegetable oil to 365 degrees F in a Dutch oven. Prepare 2 sheet trays with wire racks. Generously sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with Miss Brown's House Seasoning.
• Create a dredging station by putting the flour in a medium bowl. Next, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce in a second medium bowl. Working with one piece at a time, dredge the seasoned chicken in the flour to coat, then dip in the buttermilk mixture and back into the flour. Place onto one of the prepared sheet trays (keep the other tray clean). Continue until all the chicken is coated.
• Carefully add the chicken, skin-side down, to the oil and cook, turning once, until it is golden brown on the outside with an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to the clean prepared sheet tray when ready.
• While the chicken is frying, make the hot butter sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the hot sauce, brown sugar, cayenne and Miss Brown's seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When ready to serve, dip each piece of fried chicken in the hot butter sauce. Place each piece of chicken on the bottom of a potato roll and top with slaw and pickles. Drizzle extra sauce on top. Close each sandwich with a top bun.
• Whisk together the onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in a medium bowl. Store any extra seasoning mix in an airtight container. Makes 5 teaspoons.

NASHVILLE-STYLE HOT CHICKEN SANDWICH

Steps:

• In a large heat-resistant bowl, whisk together the cayenne, brown sugar, chile powder, granulated garlic, paprika, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle the spice mixture on all sides of the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a container and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Leave the remaining spice mixture in the bowl.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 350 degrees F. Position a wire rack on a baking sheet.
• Whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce and eggs in a shallow bowl. Put the flour in a second bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dunk the chicken first in the buttermilk mixture, then dredge in the seasoned flour and coat thoroughly. Gently drop the chicken into the oil, in batches if necessary, and fry until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to the wire rack.
• Carefully add about 1 large ladleful (6 to 8 ounces) of the frying oil to the reserved spice mixture to let it bloom. Be careful, as it will bubble aggressively. Whisk until smooth. Brush the fried chicken with the bloomed spiced oil as desired.
• For the sandwich build: Meanwhile, halve the Hawaiian rolls, spread with butter and toast on a griddle. Put the hot chicken on the griddled buns, top with pickles, lettuce and a schmear of mayo.

NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Pour the buttermilk and hot sauce over the chicken in a shallow dish. Let sit for 15 minutes.
• Preheat a deep-fryer or a large Dutch oven filled with 3 inches oil to 325 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with a wire rack.
• For the chile oil: Add the oil, chiles, chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne and crushed red pepper to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Allow the oil to come to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let the chiles steep in the oil for 5 minutes. Strain and let cool.
• For the shake: Add the brown sugar, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, chili powder, smoked paprika, white pepper and salt to a bowl. Stir to combine and set aside until later.
• For the dredge: Add the flour, pepper, smoked paprika, celery salt, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme to a very large bowl or shallow dish. Add the marinated chicken pieces, one by one, and pat the dredge onto the chicken, creating little crackles in the chicken piece.
• Shake off any excess dredge and add the chicken to the fryer. Fry in batches, turning occasionally, until just slightly golden and it has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oil and let rest on the wire rack until just cool to touch. Add back to the fryer and double-fry until super golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain again on the wire rack.
• Dip the fried chicken in the chile oil and add to a shallow dish. Dust each piece with the shake thoroughly until no oil is apparent on both sides.
• To serve: Split the Hawaiian rolls in half. Put a tender between each roll, then top with the sliced onion and a pickle chip or two.