This is one of my family’s favorite sandwiches and a frequent request at our house. These Nashville hot chicken sandwiches start with buttermilk brined fried chicken. The hot, crispy fried chicken is served on a soft roll with coleslaw and pickles. Drizzle on the spicy chili oil as you eat. This is not healthy eating, I will just tell you upfront. This is more of a splurge meal for those of us who are not 18 year old boys. 🙂
I almost always brine chicken breasts overnight, because it makes a world of difference to moisture and flavor. We’ve all had a boring, dry chicken breast and you will never end up with that if you brine first. For these I use a buttermilk brine with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, herbs, smoked paprika and a bit of chili powder. Before placing in the brine, I cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces. Cut the breast in half to separate the thick end and the thin end. Cut the thick end horizontally into 2 pieces. You will get 3 pieces from each breast. Since you will pound out and tenderize them, it is ok if they are a bit small.
After an overnight brine, the chicken is dredged in seasoned flour and fried in hot oil. I have mentioned before in my post on Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Candied Jalapenos my method for getting good texture in my breading. To make the hot chili oil, combine cayenne, garlic salt, onion powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, pepper, and chili powder with some of the oil you fried the chicken in. So… I know how it sounds to drizzle oil on your fried chicken, but this chili oil is what makes these sandwiches. It is salty and sweet and spicy and amazing! Like I said, this is a splurge. 🙂
If I have time I usually make homemade buns for this like the ones in my post on our favorite Hamburgers. Store buns are great too. I sometimes serve these with shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce instead of coleslaw. I like them both ways. If I’m not using coleslaw, I make some spicy mayo for them instead by mixing mayo and sriracha.
Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the hot chili oil:
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried italian herbs
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- few grinds of black pepper
For the chicken:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts split in half to separate the thin end from the thick and then thick end sliced horizontally into 2 pieces. You should get 3 pieces from each breast. Use a tenderizer to thin the pieces to about 1/4 inch thick.
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp italian herbs
- 2 cup AP flour
- extra salt, pepper, and any of the seasonings from the brine
To serve:
- buns
- coleslaw or shredded lettuce you can use coleslaw mix and add mayo/vinegar/salt/pepper to save time
- dill pickle slices
Instructions
Brine the chicken:
- Cut and pound out the chicken pieces as described. Mix all the brine ingredients together in a ziploc bag and place the chicken in to brine overnight.
Make the hot oil mix:
- Mix all the spices, sugar and salt in a heat safe container. You will be adding 1 cup of hot oil from cooking the chicken to this so make sure it is really heat safe.
Cook the chicken:
- Heat a large pot of oil to 350.
- Mix the flour with about 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. You can also add a little of each of the seasonings from the brine here if you want very strongly flavored chicken. I usually do this. Drizzle a little buttermilk into the flour and toss with a fork as your pour to make some small clumps.
- Dip the chicken into the flour until well covered and place a few pieces at a time into the hot oil, keeping the temp at 350.
- Fry until deep golden brown and cooked through.
- Ladle one cup of hot cooking oil into your chili oil mix. Be careful!
- Serve on a bun with coleslaw and pickles, and the jar of chili oil on the side to drizzle on as you eat.