Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich: Fiery Viral Comfort Food
Nashville hot chicken is not for the faint of heart, and that's exactly why people love it. A buttermilk fried chicken breast, deeply crisp, gets brushed with a fiery cayenne oil the second it comes out of the fryer, then piled onto a soft bun with nothing but pickles to cut through the heat. It's loud, it's messy, and it's one of the few sandwiches I've ever seen make grown adults sweat at the table.
Also Read: The Most Delicious Southern Style Chicken Sandwich Recipe
What Makes Nashville Hot Different
Most spicy fried chicken gets its heat from the marinade or the breading. Nashville hot works differently. The chicken fries up relatively simple, seasoned but not blazing, and all of the real heat comes from a cayenne infused oil brushed on right after frying. That oil seeps into the crust rather than sitting on top of it, which is why the heat builds the longer you eat rather than hitting you all at once.
Ingredients
(Makes 4 sandwiches)
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
- tallow, coconut oil or avocado oil, for frying
- 4 brioche buns
- Dill pickle chips
For the Nashville hot oil:
- ½ cup of the hot frying oil, reserved
- 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce in a bowl. Add the chicken breasts, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to overnight.
- Combine the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a separate bowl.
- Remove a chicken breast from the buttermilk, letting the excess drip off, and dredge it fully in the seasoned flour. Dip it back into the buttermilk, then dredge a second time for a thicker, craggier crust.
- Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot or deep skillet to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fry the chicken for 6 to 7 minutes per side, until deeply golden and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer to a wire rack.
- Carefully ladle out ½ cup of the hot frying oil into a heatproof bowl. Whisk in the cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder and remaining salt until smooth.
- Brush the hot cayenne oil generously over both sides of each piece of fried chicken while it's still warm.
- Build the sandwich with pickles on the bottom bun, the chicken on top, more pickles, and the top bun. Serve immediately.
Also Read: Delicious Dry-Rubbed & Oven-Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
How Our Chicken Is Raised
Our chicken comes from farms that give birds access to a natural diet and ample space to roam, without antibiotics or hormones anywhere in the process. It's a slower, more deliberate way of raising poultry, and it shows in the texture of the meat once it's breaded and fried. A lean, well raised breast holds up to that double dredge without turning tough or dry the way a lower quality bird can.
A Note On The Heat Level
This recipe as written lands somewhere in the medium range. If you want to push it hotter, increase the cayenne in the hot oil rather than the dredge itself, since that's where the real Nashville heat lives. If you're cooking for anyone heat sensitive, cut the cayenne in the oil by half and let people add hot sauce at the table instead.
Reach Out To Our Helpful Team
At Beck & Bulow, we pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. We're always here to help if you have questions about your meat, want help making selections, or are just looking for a few more cooking tips. Every time you call our office at 800-674-8426, you'll be connected directly with a team member right here in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where we're based.
Every cut is pressure sealed and flash frozen immediately after butchering at the peak of freshness. We work exclusively with master butchers who make every cut with care and precision. All orders are hand packed at our Santa Fe warehouse, shipped in a reusable cooler with dry ice, and delivered straight to your doorstep. If fried chicken night becomes a regular thing, our full humanely raised poultry selection is worth keeping stocked in the freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bake this instead of frying it?
You can bake the breaded chicken at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes, though you'll lose some of the crunch. Whisk the cayenne into a small amount of melted butter or oil instead of frying oil for the topping in that case.
Why do you dredge the chicken twice?
A double dredge creates a thicker, craggier crust that holds onto the hot oil better and gives you more texture in every bite.
Is Nashville hot chicken always this spicy?
Nashville hot chicken traditionally comes in a range of heat levels. This version lands in the middle, and you can adjust the cayenne up or down in the finishing oil to suit your own tolerance.
What if I don't have buttermilk on hand?
Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into regular milk and let it sit for 5 minutes as a substitute.
Check out our full selection of bison, elk, wild boar, lamb, grass fed beef and chicken. All of our high quality meat is handled the same way, from pasture to your door.