Fooda Cooks: Nashville Hot Chicken

Here at Fooda we are passionate about eating delicious food all the time. That includes providing great food for workplaces across the country, as well as having fun with our own recipes at home. Here’s one from our Director of Culinary Partnerships, Jake Mangan, who made homemade Nashville Hot Chicken. Check out his recipe!

Nashville Hot Chicken

Chicken Brine

• 4 cups buttermilk
• ¼ cup hot sauce of your choice
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 6-8 pieces of chicken – breasts, thighs, or whole bird segmented

Flour Dredge

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp paprika

Hot Oil Sauce

• ½ cup cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Dash of MSG powder
• ¼ cup lard or butter

 Cool Down sauce

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 2 Tbsp hot sauce (like Texas Pete)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Buns – need to be toasted

Pickles – added on top, optional  

Instructions

Marinate
In a large bowl put the buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, pepper and paprika – whisk well to combine and add the chicken and make sure it’s well covered. Refrigerate up to 4 hours, even overnight is fine

Flour Dredge
In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until well combined

To Cook
1. Remove the chicken pieces one by one from the buttermilk and let any excess drip off

2. Put the pieces, one by one into the flour making sure each is well coated, shake off excess then back into the buttermilk and then into the flour again and put on a plate or a rack on a baking sheet – repeat with all the chicken

3. Fill either a deep fryer with oil, or a large cast iron pan about 1/3 of the way up the sides and heat to 325 degrees 

4. Slowly add 3 or 4 pieces of chicken at a time and cook until golden brown and crisp on both sides (turning pieces over about halfway through) and the chicken reaches 160 to165 degrees, approximately 12-14 minutes

5. When done, move the chicken pieces to a rack covered baking sheet and place in a 250 degree oven while you finish cooking the remaining pieces

Hot Oil Sauce
When all the frying is done, combine the oil ingredients in a medium bowl and add 1 cup of the hot frying oil – stir well to combine and incorporate

 To serve, brush the cooked chicken well with the sauce, or dunk the pieces – serve hot

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