Last Updated on April 30, 2024 by Carne Diem
Protein: 
Origin: American South, North American
Method: Stovetop or Fryer
Jump to RecipeNashville Hot Chicken has been one of the hottest food trends the last couple years, both figuratively and literally. I must admit, that when I see a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich on a menu at a restaurant 9 times out of 10 I am going to order it.
Table of contents
I have been fortunate enough to eat the original Nashville Hot Chicken at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack and at other popular spots like Haddie B's during trips to Nashville. The Music City hot chicken definitely lives up to its reputation. Thankfully, you can make this spicy fried chicken sandwich at home with just a little effort.
Nashville Hot Chicken Origin Story
Legend has it that Prince's Hot Chicken was created generations ago when a great uncle of the current owner returned home late one night after a night of "extra-curricular activities." His wife, having none of that nonsense decided to cook him up some special fried chicken, using every hot spice she could find to teach him a lesson. Sadly, (or luckily for us) the plan backfired, and he loved it. Soon after he opened a restaurant selling his "Hot Chicken." Ironically the restaurant even stayed open until 4 AM to serve those that were getting home late.
Prince's Hot chicken serves its chicken at multiple heat levels ranging from plain to XXX hot. I will say that even their medium is hotter than most other Nashville Hot Chicken that you will find outside of Nashville. The hot required a fair amount of dipping in ranch. I can only imagine the heat in the 3 hotter levels. Our Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich recipe would probably qualify as a nice medium.
Making the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
To make the authentic Nashville hot chicken recipe you will need to brine then bread the chicken, fry with boneless chicken breasts, and then finish the chicken with a fiery hot basting oil.
Prepping the chicken
Begin creating your sandwich by selecting fresh, high quality chicken breasts.
To help make the chicken extra tender and juicy we recommend using a Jaccard to blade tenderize the meat. You can read more about this tool here or on our Tools of the Trade page. If you do not own a Jaccard, you can skip this step. If desired, you can also make the chicken sandwiches with boneless skinless chicken thighs, but the breasts are our favorites.
To layer flavor in the chicken, retain moisture, and increase tenderness, the chicken breasts are given a short marinade in a buttermilk brine. To prepare the buttermilk, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce in a large bowl. Feel free to use your favorite hot sauce in the brine. Frank's Redhot is always a good choice but tabasco or any other hot sauce will work.
Once the buttermilk and hot sauce mixture is well combined, submerge the chicken pieces in the buttermilk mixture, and cover with plastic wrap. Marinade the chicken in the buttermilk brine for 4-8 hours in the refrigerator.
Prepare your flour mixture
To makes the seasoned breading for the Nashville Hot chicken, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, Johnny's Seasoning, salt, and black pepper in a 1-2 gallon plastic bag and shake well to combine. Set aside and reserve for later.
All-purpose flour is all that is needed for the flour mixture. You can adjust the amount of cayenne pepper in the recipe to make the sandwich even spicier if desired.
Preparing the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich seasoning
To make the Nashville Hot seasoning, mix together the cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Set aside and reserve for later. Again, the spice level can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the cayenne and crushed red pepper.
Breading the chicken
When you are ready to cook the chicken, heat the cooking oil in a fryer, Dutch Oven, or heavy bottomed skillet to 340-350 degrees or medium-high heat. Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as canola oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oil.
Remove the brined chicken from the fridge and lift the pieces of chicken from the buttermilk allowing any excess to drain off.
Carefully place chicken into the bag with the seasoned flour and shake to coast the chicken. You can work in batches if you find this easier. Remove chicken from the bag and gently shake off any excess flour coating.
Place the breaded chicken on a wire rack and let the chicken sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This helps the chicken cook more evenly and helps prevent a big drop in the oil temp when you add the chicken.
Cooking the Hot Chicken
When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts to the oil. Do not overcrowd the chicken. It is best to work in batches, so you do not drop the temperature of the oil too much. Cook the breast for about 5-7 minutes then carefully flip the breasts over. Continue cooking until the chicken has reached a deep golden brown and reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. This typically takes about another 7-10 minutes. If you are cooking in a deep fryer the cook time will typically take about 6-9 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.
Looking for more of the best sandwich recipes? Give some of these delicious recipes a try:
- Choripán: Argentinian Grilled Chorizo Sandwich
- Baltimore Pit Beef : Maryland Style Roast Beef Sandwich
- Tempura Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
- New York Chopped Cheese Sandwich
- Grilled Muffaletta: New Orleans Deli Sandwich
- Vietnamese Grilled Pork Banh Mi Sandwich
When the chicken is done cooking, transfer the deep-fried chicken to a clean baking sheet or baking dish lined with a clean wire rack. Note: if you are having problems with the chicken getting too brown before reaching 165 degrees, you can remove the chicken from the oil when the coating is to your liking and finish cooking the chicken on a wire rack in a 350-degree oven. If you are cooking in batches, place the baking sheet with the cooked chicken in a warm oven or warming drawer, while you finish the rest of the chicken.
If the chicken coating becomes too soft while being held, you can crisp it back up by returning the chicken to the fryer for about 1 minute.
Finishing the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches
The final step is to coat the crispy fried chicken in a spicy hot oil. Reserve and strain about ½ cup of the hot frying oil.
Carefully whisk the Nashville hot seasoning mixture into the reserved frying oil until well combined.
Brush the surface of the fried chicken breasts with the hot spiced oil and serve hot. You may need to mix periodically to keep the seasoning well mixed in the oil.
You can control the heat of the final product by making adjustments in the cayenne pepper in the oil, or by how much oil you coat the chicken with. This recipe works out to about a medium on the heat scale.
Now it is time to assemble your sandwich.
Serve the spicy fried chicken breast on a bun with your choice of toppings.
Buns: Use your favorite hamburger style buns. Potato buns are great or use brioche buns if you want something a little sweeter.
Toppings for the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich:
Pickles: Not hot chicken sandwich is complete without pickles. Use traditional dill pickle chips, spicy pickles for more heat, or butter pickles if you want to contrast the heat with a little sweetness.
Additional toppings: Shredded lettuce, sliced beefsteak tomatoes, and even coleslaw also work well on the homemade Nashville hot chicken sandwich.
What to serve with a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
Some of our favorite sides include salt and vinegar chips, crispy French fries, potato salad, or creamy coleslaw.
Grab a couple extra napkins as well and dig into the best chicken sandwich ever.
If you are in the mood for some less spicy chicken, then be sure to take a peek at our recipes for Grilled Souvlaki (Greek Chicken Skewers), Braised Basque Style Chicken with Piperade Sauce and Spatchcock Chicken.
Still want a little heat but in the mood for something different? Check out this awesome Taiwanese Night Market Spicy Fried Chicken, Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken or our Buffalo Chicken Wontons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nashville Hot Chicken is known for its fiery heat. The spice level can vary depending on the restaurant, but it generally packs a punch. Most places offer different spice levels to cater to all preferences. This recipe can be adjusted to taste as well to make it as mild or spicy as you want it.
Nashville hot chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees for food safety.
The ideal temperature for frying the Nashville hot chicken is around 350-360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Thank you so much for visiting our blog. If you tried and enjoyed our recipe, please share with others and please leave us a comment and review. We also love to see your pics so don’t forget to tag us @Carne_Diem_Culinary or #CarneDiemBlog. To be notified of future recipes please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, or sign up for our e-mail notifications. Until next time, Carne Diem!
📖 Recipe
Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
Equipment
- Cast iron or other heavy bottom skillet, or deep fryer
Ingredients
- 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 4 Hamburger or Potato Buns
- Canola, Peanut, or Vegetable Oil For frying
- Pickles, lettuce, tomato or your choice of toppings
Seasoned Flour
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 2 teaspoons Black Pepper preferably smoked
- 2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Johnny's Seasoning other other seasoning salt
- 2 teaspoons Sweet Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 Cups Buttermilk
- ⅓ Cup Hot Sauce use your favorite
Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sweet Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Chili Powder we like Hatch
- ½ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from the chicken breast. If desired, use a Jaccard to tenderize the chicken breast.
- Whisk the buttermilk and hot sauce together in a large bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and marinade, covered, in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.
Seasoned Flour
- Combine the flour with the spices in a large plastic bag and shake well to combine.
Hot Chicken Seasoning
- Combine the Hot chicken seasoning together in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
Cooking the Chicken
- When you are ready to fry, remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture. Allow any excess buttermilk to drip off then place the chicken in the bag with the flour. Shake to coat the chicken with flour.
- Remove chicken from the bag and shake off excess flour. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack. Let rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes while you heat the oil.
- Fill a heavy bottomed skillet or fryer with the oil and heat the oil to 340-350 degrees.
- When the oil is at temp add the chicken breasts. Work in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding. Cook the breasts for 5-6 minutes then flip them over. Cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, until the chicken is a crispy golden brown and the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degree. Note: If the chicken is getting too brown before reaching an internal temp of 165 degrees, you can finish the chicken on a wire rack in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes.
- Remove the fried chicken to a clean wire rack.
- Strain about ½ cup of the hot oil into the bowl with the spice mix. Carefully whisk to combine. Brush the surface of the fried chicken chicken with the spicy hot oil.
- Serve on you choice of bun with pickles, lettuce or your choice of toppings.
Nutrition
Kristina Meinershagen
The Nashville chicken was so easy and DELICIOUS!!!! I cut the chicken breast up and more like nuggets. Will definitely make again!!!
Carne Diem
Glad you liked it. Thank you fore sharing!