Hot Fried Chicken Food

NASHVILLE-STYLE HOT FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Prepare the brine: In a large bowl, whisk salt and spices in 2 cups boiling water until salt dissolves. Whisk in 6 cups ice water. The brine should be cold; if not, chill until it is. Add chicken pieces to the cold brine and chill for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.
• In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the very hot spice mixture. In another bowl, prepare the dredge: combine the flour, granulated garlic and onion, salt and pepper.
• Remove chicken pieces from brine, pat dry with paper towels and season with a light dusting of hot spice mixture. Dust pieces with dredge mixture. Reserve both the remaining hot spice mixture and the dredge. Let chicken rest in fridge, uncovered, for at least an hour for the coating to adhere.
• Pour 2 inches of oil into a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a cover. Heat oil to 325 degrees on a deep-fat thermometer. In a shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and 2 cups ice water to make egg wash. Dip chicken in egg wash, then coat with more dredge. Shake pieces lightly so any excess dredge falls off.
• Carefully place chicken in hot oil, about 3 to 4 pieces per batch. Cover pot with lid and let fry for 5 to 6 minutes, until golden brown on one side. Remove lid and flip pieces. Fry another 5 to 6 minutes, uncovered. Using tongs, transfer cooked chicken to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to catch the oil drips. Dust with very hot spice as it comes out of the fryer.

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.

HATTIE B'S HOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Dry-brine the chicken: In a bowl, toss the chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper; cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
• Make the dip and dredge: In a bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and hot sauce. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and 2 teaspoons sea salt.
• Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then dip in the milk mixture, then in the flour mixture again, shaking off the excess after each step.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fryer to 325 degrees F. Set a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Working in batches, lower the chicken into the fryer and fry until crisp, 15 to 17 minutes for breast quarters and 18 to 20 minutes for leg quarters. Remove the chicken and let it drain on the rack.
• Make the spicy coating: Carefully ladle the lard or frying oil into a medium heatproof bowl and whisk in the cayenne pepper, brown sugar, 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, the paprika and garlic powder. Baste the spice mixture over the hot fried chicken and serve immediately; garnish with pickles.

HOT HONEY CRISPY CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the seasoning flour: Mix together the flour, seafood seasoning, salt, paprika, mustard powder and pepper and divide between 2 plates or shallow bowls.
• For the brine: Mix together the buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, celery seed, smoked paprika and pepper and divide between 2 plates or shallow bowls.
• Coat the chicken in the brine, then seasoning flour, then the second bowl of brine and the second bowl of seasoning flour and shake off excess; place on a rack.
• Heat a few inches of oil in a Dutch oven or tabletop fryer to 365 degrees F. Cook the chicken in batches if necessary until deep golden and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• For the buffalo honey sauce: In a small pot, melt the butter and add the honey, hot sauce, Worcestershire and garlic and simmer gently to thicken. Serve the fried chicken with the sauce.

HOT HONEY FRIED CHICKEN STRIPS

Steps:

• Place one sheet of plastic wrap on a clean cutting board (see Cook's Note). Put one chicken piece in the center of the plastic wrap and top with another sheet. Pound the chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet, starting in the center and working your way to the edges, until the chicken is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut each chicken thigh into 3 even strips. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
• Pour 1 cup buttermilk over the chicken. Marinate at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes or overnight in the fridge if time allows.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Pour about 1 inch of oil into a deep, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 to 375 degrees F.
• Stir together the 1/4 cup honey in a small bowl with as much hot sauce as you like (I use 1 tablespoon, but I like it spicy.) Set aside until ready to serve.
• Stir together the flour, paprika, cayenne, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper in a large bowl. Stir in the garlic powder and onion powder if using.
• Stir the remaining 1/3 cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture until it has a chunky consistency.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture so that each piece is fully coated and place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Working in batches to avoid crowding the pot, add 3 to 4 pieces of the coated chicken and fry, undisturbed, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and fry until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the fried chicken strips to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, season with a pinch of salt and hold in the warm oven. Check the oil temperature and adjust the heat as needed to bring it back to 350 to 275 degrees F, then repeat with the remaining chicken.
• Serve the fried chicken strips immediately with the hot honey.

HOT FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the buttermilk marinade: Whisk the buttermilk together with the honey, hot sauce, salt, seafood seasoning, black pepper and cayenne in a large mixing bowl.
• Submerge the chicken pieces in the buttermilk. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 12 hours.
• Pull the chicken out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature, still in the marinade, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a deep pot or a deep-fryer over high heat (the oil should be 3 inches deep) so that it starts popping, about 350 degrees F. A good rule of thumb: if you drop a pinch of flour into the oil and it fries up immediately, you're good to go.
• While the oil is heating, combine the seafood seasoning, paprika, salt, celery seed, cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Reserve half to be sprinkled over the chicken after it's fried later, and combine the other half with the flour in a large bowl. Mix things around with your hands so everything is distributed evenly.
• When the oil is hot, transfer a piece of chicken into the dredging flour, heaping flour on top of it and flipping it around until the chicken is completely coated. Do the same with each piece until there's no more space in the bowl.
• Lightly shake the chicken (just enough to get rid of the really loose bits of flour) and drop into the fry pot using your hands or a pair of tongs. (You will definitely need to fry your chicken in batches, unless you've got some really big bowls and pots.).
• Fry the chicken until golden brown, about 8 minutes, and then transfer to a rack set on a baking sheet with tongs.
• Sprinkle each piece of chicken with the seasoning mixture, turning with tongs to coat on all sides.
• Let the chicken rest in the oven at least 10 minutes, so that the cooking process finishes. Meanwhile, fry up the next batch of chicken.
• Hold the fried chicken in the oven until all the pieces are fried and rested and you're ready to serve it up. Then pile the chicken on a big plate, put it in the center of the table with biscuits, collards and slaw, and let everybody start grabbing pieces. I guarantee it will disappear fast.

SWEET HOT FRIED CHICKEN AND WAFFLES

Steps:

• For the glaze: Combine the honey, maple syrup, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, vinegar, cayenne and salt in a small saucepot. Bring just to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let steep for 20 minutes, then strain into a clean container.
• For the waffles: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Place a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack in the oven.
• Whisk together the flour, Cheddar, sugar, baking powder, hot sauce, scallion whites and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• In another large bowl, whisk the eggs and a pinch of salt until just broken up, then add the milk and whisk. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until combined.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the flour is just incorporated and no streaks remain (the batter may have a few lumps).
• Preheat a Belgian waffle iron to medium heat according to the manufacturer's instructions. Spray with nonstick cooking spray, add some batter, close the lid, and cook until the steam starts to diminish (open the top and peek for doneness after a few minutes). Transfer the waffle to the wire rack in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 8 waffles.
• For the chicken: Pour 5-inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Heat over medium-high heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 360 degrees F.
• Place the chicken thighs and buttermilk in a bowl. In a separate bowl, add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper and salt, and mix to combine. Dredge each thigh in the flour mix, then shake off any excess flour and carefully place in the oil. Fry until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the chicken to a paper bag or paper towels to drain excess grease and immediately season with salt.
• Place each piece of fried chicken on top of a waffle and top each with some glaze and scallion greens to serve.