Nashville Hot Chicken – Yes Cayenne

It’s not often I reduce the amount of cayenne in a recipe, but that’s the case with this striking, and intensely spiced Nashville hot chicken. If you’ve never had it, we’re talking about an ultra-crispy fried chicken, doused with a cayenne-infused glaze, and by “glaze” I mean melted butter and lard.

Sure, it sounds crazy, but somehow it works. I’ve never been to Nashville, so I can’t tell you how authentic this is, but it works for me, and is fairly easy to pull off. 

By the way, do yourself a favor, and toss the chicken with a tablespoon of kosher salt the night before you fry, and you’ll get a nicely seasoned, moister bird.

You can cut up a whole chicken, or just buy a package of leg sections, which work great in this recipe. If you want to see how to cut up a chicken, check out this old buttermilk fried chicken video. I cut the breasts in half in that one, but the technique is the same. I really hope you give this amazing fried chicken recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces:

For the marinade:

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup pickle brine

2 tablespoon Louisiana-style hot sauce

1 large egg

For the flour:

2 cups AP flour

2 teaspoons fine table salt or 4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the sauce:

1/4 cup lard

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- Heat oil to 350 F. and maintain temp of 325 F. during frying. Cook to at least 160 internal temp.

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