Each bite of homemade Nashville Hot Chicken packs a punch! Mix up your dinner routine with this spicy fried chicken recipe.
Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe
If you’ve ever been to Nashville, you’ve likely sampled (or heard about) their famous hot chicken! There are many hot chicken restaurants sprinkled throughout town, each one with spicier chicken than the next.
Served as sandwiches or tacos, in burritos, and more, Nashville Hot Chicken is for the most daring foodies!
Follow this recipe for crispy, juicy, and ultra spicy fried chicken.
Why You’ll Love this Spicy Chicken:
- UNIQUE: This isn’t your average fried chicken!
- SPICY: If you love spicy food, this recipe is for you. Marinated with hot sauce and brushed with a spicy oil, this crispy fried chicken is for true spice lovers.
- MAKE AHEAD: While cooked fried chicken is best enjoyed fresh, let the chicken brine and marinate for up to 24 hours in advance.
Whip up a batch of Nashville hot chicken in the comforts of your own home tonight. No trip to Nashville required for this hot chicken recipe!
How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Salt the chicken and refrigerate it for 24 hours.
- Make the marinade.
- Marinate the chicken for 2-4 hours.
- Flour and coat each piece of chicken.
- Fry the chicken.
- Make the spicy oil sauce.
- Brush the sauce onto the chicken.
Nashville hot chicken is a type of spicy fried chicken that originated in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s flavorful, crispy, spicy, and often served on bread or rolls with pickles.
You’ll need a 3-4 pound, washed, patted dry, and quartered whole chicken for this recipe. If you prefer, use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken.
Yes, Nashville hot chicken is fried chicken.
Serving Ideas
Pair Nashville Hot Chicken with refreshing snacks and appetizers to balance out the spice! Serve this spicy chicken with:
- Fresh veggies like celery, carrot sticks, cucumbers, and tomatoes
- Your favorite dips like ranch or blue cheese dressing
- Toast or a roll topped with crisp pickles
When I say this chicken is hot, it’s really hot!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- For maximum flavor, let the chicken brine for 4 hours.
- Place cooked chicken on a clean cooling rack set over paper towels to let any excess oil drip off.
- Traditional Nashville hot chicken is served with pickles! The fresh, crisp pickles pair wonderfully with the spicy chicken.
Fried to perfection, this spicy chicken will wow any crowd!
What temperature should the oil be?
Heat the oil until it reaches 350°F before frying the chicken. If the oil is too cold, the chicken will be oily and if the oil is too hot, the chicken will burn.
What kind of hot sauce should I use?
Use your favorite hot sauce in the marinade!
How can I make this chicken less spicy?
To make this chicken a little less spicy, reduce (or omit) the amount of cayenne pepper added in step 6.
Enjoy a taste of Nashville with this hot chicken recipe!
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 whole chicken about 3-4 pounds, washed, patted dry, and quartered
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
For the Marinade
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle brine
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 large egg beaten
For the Coating/Cooking
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Vegetable oil for frying
- ¼ cup hot frying oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2-3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- White bread and dill pickle slices for serving
Instructions
- In a bowl, toss the chicken pieces with kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight, up to 24 hours.1 whole chicken, 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Make the marinade. In a plastic zip-top bag, combine the buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg together. Add the chicken pieces, seal the bag, and massage the chicken to ensure each piece is thoroughly coated. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.1 cup buttermilk, 2 tablespoons dill pickle brine, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, 1 large egg
- In a large, shallow dish, mix the flour and salt together. Once the chicken has marinated, take it out of the refrigerator. Remove the chicken from the marinade and blot each piece with paper towels. Place the marinaded chicken pieces onto a cooling rack and transfer the remaining marinade to another shallow bowl.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Dredge each piece of chicken through the flour until thoroughly coated. Dip into the reserved marinade, making sure to coat all sides. Let any excess marinade drop off the chicken and dredge through the flour again. Place coated chicken pieces on a cooling rack to sit for 15-20 minutes.
- While the chicken sits, fill a large cast iron skillet about one third of the way with vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 350°F over medium-high heat. Carefully place the chicken pieces skin-side down into the hot oil. Fry until crisp and the internal temperature reads 165°F, about 15-17 minutes for breast quarters and 18-20 minutes for leg quarters. Remove the chicken pieces from the oil and place them onto a clean cooling rack set over paper towels.Vegetable oil
- Carefully transfer ¼ cup of the hot frying oil to a heat proof mixing bowl. Add the butter, cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until melted and combined. Brush the mixture over the hot fried chicken and serve immediately over white bread with pickle slices.¼ cup hot frying oil, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2-3 tablespoons cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, White bread and dill pickle slices
Notes
- Storage: Fried chicken is best enjoyed immediately.
- Chicken: Instead of using a whole chicken, follow the same preparations and cooking method with chicken breasts.
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