Chicken
Nashville Hot Chicken
This spicy, extra-crunchy fried chicken will burn your mouth and thrill your stomach.
Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups whole buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce (such as louisiana)
- 1/4 cup dill pickle juice, plus dill pickle slices for serving (from 1 [16-ounce] jar)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 (10-ounce) boneless, skin-on chicken breasts, halved crosswise
- 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
- canola oil
- 3 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons msg (optional)
- 2 cups (about 8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (about 5 1/4 ounces) white rice flour (such as bob’s red mill)
- sliced white bread
Directions:
- Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, hot sauce, pickle juice, honey, and 3 tablespoons of the salt in a large bowl. Place chicken in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours.
- Pour canola oil into a large Dutch oven to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium-high to 335°F. Meanwhile, remove chicken from the refrigerator, and let stand (still covered). Line 2 baking sheets with wire racks, and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. While oil heats, stir together brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, MSG (if using), and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a medium-size heatproof bowl; set aside.
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, rice flour, and remaining 1 tablespoon salt in a large bowl or shallow dish. Spoon about 4 tablespoons buttermilk mixture into flour mixture; briefly stir to form small clumps (most of flour should be dry). Working in batches, remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, and place in flour mixture. Turn chicken 1 to 2 times, completely coating chicken in flour. Place chicken on 1 prepared baking sheet, leaving the second baking sheet clean for cooked chicken.
- Once the oil reaches 335°F, carefully add 3 to 4 pieces of coated chicken at a time to the Dutch oven. Cook, turning twice, until chicken is deeply browned and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of chicken registers 165°F, 8 to 9 minutes for thighs and 10 minutes for breasts. Transfer to the second prepared baking sheet, and keep warm in the preheated oven while frying the remaining chicken.
- Once all of the chicken is cooked, ladle 1 cup hot frying oil into the bowl with cayenne mixture; stir well. Using tongs, dip each piece of chicken into the hot oil mixture, turning to coat. Serve immediately with white bread and pickle slices.