Nashville Hot Chicken
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 6 servings
- Total: 1 hr 15 min
- Active: 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients
Chicken:
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot sauce
12 chicken tenders, or 3 chicken breasts sliced into tender strips
Vegetable oil, for frying
Chile Oil:
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 dried guajillo chiles, left whole
1/4 cup dark chili powder
1/4 cup smoked paprika
1/4 cup cayenne pepper
1/4 cup crushed red pepper
Shake:
4 ounces brown sugar
3 ounces cayenne pepper
1 ounce ground cinnamon
1 ounce dark chili powder
1 ounce smoked paprika
1 ounce ground white pepper
1 ounce kosher salt
Dredge:
1 pound all-purpose flour
2 ounces coarse black pepper
1 ounce smoked paprika
1 ounce celery salt
1 ounce kosher salt
1/2 ounce garlic powder
1/2 ounce onion powder
1/2 ounce dried thyme
To Serve:
12 Hawaiian sweet slider rolls
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Pickled cucumber slices, for serving
Directions
Special equipment:
a deep-fryer or deep-fry thermometer- 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.