Nashville Hot Chicken
Juicy, crispy, Nashville Hot Chicken (customizable spicy fried chicken) is the only fried chicken recipe you will ever need! Nashville Hot Chicken is legendary for it's bite but when you make it at home, you can decide just how much heat you want. You can leave off the Nashville Hot Sauce at the end for crunchy, flavor bursting chicken or add more or less Sauce to customize how spicy you want it. Either way, you won’t be able to resist this electrifying easier-than-you-think fried chicken!
Servings 6 -8 servings
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds bone in chicken pieces (drumsticks, wings, split breasts cut in half, and/or thighs, trimmed)
- vegetable oil for frying
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Spice Rub (in directions)
- 2 McCormick® bay leaves
Spice Rub
- 1 1/2 tablespoons McCormick® salt
- 1 tablespoon McCormick® paprika
- 1 tablespoon McCormick® onion powder
- 1 tablespoon McCormick Garlic Powder
- 1 tablespoon McCormick® chili powder
- 2 teaspoons McCormick® pepper
- 1 teaspoon McCormick® dried crushed oregano
- 1 teaspoon McCormick® dried basil
- 1 teaspoon McCormick® ground red cayenne pepper
Buttermilk Egg Wash
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
Flour Breading
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Remaining Spice Rub (in directions)
Nashville Hot Sauce
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon McCormick® ground red cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Spice Rub (in directions)
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® smoked paprika
- 3/4 cup Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Whisk all of the Spice Rub seasonings together in a small bowl. Remove 1 1/2 tablespoons Spice Rub to a large bowl along with 2 cups buttermilk and 2 bay leaves. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours up to overnight.
- When ready to cook, remove 1 teaspoon Spice Rub to a medium bowl for your Nashville Hot Sauce. Stir in all remaining Nashville Hot Sauce ingredients except butter (the oil will look separated which is okay).
- Prepare your Buttermilk Egg Wash by whisking 2 eggs together with 1 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup hot sauce in a medium bowl.
- Prepare Flour Breading by whisking 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder and all remaining Spice Rub spices together in a large bowl.
- Working with 1 piece of chicken at a time, dredge chicken in Flour, shake of any excess, coat in Buttermilk Egg Wash, shake of any excess, then dredge once more in Flour, shake of any excess and place chicken on a baking rack. Repeat until all chicken is coated.
- Add enough vegetable oil to your Dutch oven until oil measures 3” deep. Heat over medium high heat until oil registers 375 degrees F. Add 3-4 chicken pieces to your Dutch oven in a single layer, cover, and cook 7 minutes. Flip chicken over, cover and continue to fry until chicken’s internal temperature reaches 160 degrees or 165 degrees for dark meat, about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove fried chicken to paper towel lined baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.
- Meanwhile, vigorously whisk in melted butter to your Nashville Hot Sauce until smooth. Let chicken cool slightly then brush with desired amount of Sauce. You can adjust the spiciness of your chicken by simply adding more or less Nashville Hot Sauce.
Video
Notes
Don't miss the "how to make" recipe video at the top of the post!
Make ahead: Chicken can be prepared up to the point of frying and kept in the refrigerator. Let chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before frying. *Total time does not include marinating as this will vary between individuals.