Nashville Hot Chicken at Home

Nashville hot chicken is not Buffalo wings. It's not fried chicken with hot sauce drizzled on top. It's a specific technique where fried chicken is painted with a spicy, fatty paste while still screaming hot from the fryer, and the paste soaks into the crust and creates something genuinely transcendent. It's messy, intense, and one of the best things you can eat. Here's how to make it at home.

The Brine (Start the Night Before)

Brining is not optional. It's what keeps the chicken juicy through the high-heat frying process.

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (thighs are better than breasts for this, more fat, more flavour, harder to overcook)
• 4 cups buttermilk
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder

Whisk the salt and spices into the buttermilk. Submerge the chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, up to 24. The buttermilk's acidity tenderizes the meat while the salt seasons it all the way through.

The Dredge

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (this is the secret to extra-crispy coating)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Mix everything in a shallow dish. Pull each chicken piece from the buttermilk, let the excess drip off, then press firmly into the dredge on all sides. Let the dredged pieces rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes before frying. This rest lets the coating hydrate slightly and adhere better.

The Fry

Heat neutral oil (canola or peanut) to 325 degrees Fahrenheit in a heavy pot or Dutch oven. You want at least 3 inches of oil depth. Fry the chicken in batches, 2 pieces at a time, for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once halfway through. Internal temperature should hit 165 degrees in the thickest part. The relatively low frying temperature cooks the chicken through without burning the coating.

Rest the fried pieces on a wire rack for 2 minutes, but no longer. You want to apply the hot paste while the chicken is still very hot so it soaks into the crust.

The Hot Paste

This is where Nashville hot chicken becomes Nashville hot chicken.

• 3 tbsp lard or melted butter (lard is traditional and better)
• 2 tbsp our Smoky Chipotle sauce
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp of the frying oil (scooped from the pot)

Mix everything together. The frying oil is important. It carries pepper flavour from the dredge that fell off into the oil during cooking, and it helps the paste achieve the right consistency: loose enough to brush on, thick enough to cling.

Brush the paste generously over every surface of the hot chicken. It should soak in immediately, turning the crust a deep, angry reddish-brown.

The Serve

Place each piece on a slice of white bread (traditional, the bread soaks up the drippings and becomes the best part). Top with dill pickle slices. That's it. Nashville hot chicken doesn't need slaw, doesn't need fancy sides. White bread, pickles, chicken. The Smoky Chipotle adds a layer of smoke flavour that you don't get from cayenne alone, and it rounds out the heat so it burns slow and warm instead of sharp and aggressive.