This recipe is a little more complicated than your average fried chicken but its all worth it. The first step is bringing the chicken, soaking the chicken in the brine allows the seasoning to penetrate it and ensures the chicken stays as moist as possible. The chicken needs to sit in the brine for at least a few hours but preferably overnight, if you don’t have the time just skip this step. You can serve the chicken as is but its also great for chicken sandwiches.
Nashville Hot Chicken
The breading on the chicken is fairly neutral in the Nashville style but you won’t be able to tell once its smothered in the fiery sauce.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 kg chicken assorted pieces a mix of white and dark meat
- vegetable oil for frying
For brine:
- 2 L warm water
- ½ cup sea salt
- rind of half a lemon
- 2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- a handful of fresh parsley leaves torn
For flour:
- 4 cups plain flour
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
For buttermilk dredge:
- 500 mL buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup hot sauce something vinegar based like tabasco
For sauce:
- 75 g butter
- 75 g lard
- 3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- The day before frying, combine all of the brine ingredients in a bowl and stir until the salt dissolves. Submerge the chicken in the brine and refrigerate until half an hour before you’re ready to start frying the chicken.
- To make the flour and buttermilk dredges, simply combine the ingredients in separate bowls and mix well.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan or Dutch oven to 180°remove the chicken from the brining liquid and pat dry with paper towel. Star by coating the chicken pieces one at a time in the flour mixture then transfer to the buttermilk, then back to the flour for a second coating.
- Once the oil is heated and chicken is coated, fry the chicken pieces a few at a time and fry for 10 minutes if boneless or 15 if on the bone. Remove from oil and place onto paper towel to soak up excess oil.
- While the chicken is frying, in a separate pan combine the sauce ingredients and heat on medium-high until butter and lard melt. Remove from heat and set aside. Once chicken is cooked toss in the sauce. Serve immediately.