Chef John's Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe

I'm a fried chicken snob, and this recipe came very close to the fiery version I've eaten down South. To turn up the heat, I added a teeny bit of habanero chili powder and that did the trick. As a seasoned chicken fryer, I also added my not-so-secret ingredient to the flour mixture to make the chicken extra crispy: about a half cup of Matzo meal. Really! Finally, I have a trusted Lodge cast iron skillet that never lets me down on frying projects. The tricky thing is getting the oil temp just right and keeping it hot. If the oil's not hot enough, it makes for greasy chicken. If it's too hot, the coating burns before the chicken's fully cooked. All that sounds like a huge hassle, but it's so incredibly delish, you'll be glad you made the effort!

Great recipe. I don't like deep fat frying so when I got to the last step I substituted panko bread crumbs mixed with oil for the second flour dredge and then put them on a rack on a baking sheet and put them on an upper oven rack and cooked at 400 degrees using the convection roast setting so the broiler element would cycle on as well as the bottom element. They were done in about 25 minutes and lightly browned on top, but no browning on the bottom. Next time I will use the broiler setting briefly and flip them over to brown both sides.

Fantastic! I made it with boneless/ skinless thighs. Instead of frying the chicken, I browned it in a hot pan in a little canola oil for about 5 minutes per side, then baked it at 350 for 20 minutes. I coated the pieces in the sauce and baked for another 5 minutes. I served the chicken on bakery rolls with sliced pickles. No other condiments we needed... the combination of the chicken and pickles was absolutely delicious!

Just perfect!!! I used chicken thighs and just air fryed them 180 celsius, 18 minutes. First tossed marinated thigs into all purpose flours then back to marinade. For the second coating I used panko flours. I didn't use lard but doubled the amount of butter. Served these super juicy and crispy chicken thigs between brioche buns with sriracha mayo, homemade coleslaw and pickles.

First let me say that while I am from the South, my folks are both transplanted Yankees and know nothing about frying chicken. So I lived in Nashville for a few years and learned a trick or two from some friends' mommas. Folks, this is the real deal. Secondly, I hate frying...pan frying, deep frying, you name it, I hate to do it. More specifically, I hate the clean up. This is so worth it. Thirdly and most importantly, this is not an every day dinner. This is not a once a month dinner. This is a treat and yes, LARD is important. So, with all that said, I made this with boneless, skin on breasts and thighs cut into some kind of large strips. It was delectable! For me the heat was spot-on. Sometimes it can be too hot. It was a bit too much for those in my family who are not fans of spice (oh well, more for me, right?), so I do recommend starting with 1 tablespoon of cayenne, as another reviewer said. Thanks, Chef John!

Whisk butter and lard into 3Tbsp simmering water then whisk in spices and sugar. It won't split or break as it is emulsified like a burre monte.

The chicken had a delicious mildly hot flavor. I did have a hard time keeping the oil at 325 degrees but I never really fry things so I’ll need some more experience with that. I did modify the recipe by doubling the hot sauce in the marinade as well as the cayenne pepper to the sauce. I also added some of the marinade to the flour to make flour chunks stick to the chicken. I loved how crunchy and tasty it was. I will leave this recipe in my book. Note: I did use Nashville Hot Chicken seasoning in the flour. Even after all the modifications in an attempt to make it hot, the chicken was still mild. Will probably up my cayenne pepper or add habanero in the future.

So good! I seasoned the flour to add extra flavor and didn’t use lard for the sauce-just butter. I also added hot honey to the sauce and it was sooo good! 10/10 recommend. I may try to make the recipe into a chicken sandwich with pickles

Easy recipe to make. Skin is crispy and the brining made the chicken juicy. I brined for 24 hrs instead of 4-6 hrs.Sauce is tasty,but spicy but great flavor. I would use 1 tbls of cayenne instead of 2,but that's just my preference. I also served the sauce on the side since it was so spicy. Thermometer is a must to make sure meat is done. All in all,a great fried chicken recipe.

Made this using our air fryer and turned out great! Used 1.5 TB of cayenne for the oil, and gluten free flour for my mother, and it was still very spicy and delicious. Anyone looking to try with an air fryer, we did 390 degrees for 25 min, turning the chicken at 13 min and applying oil/butter to the dry floury parts. Soooo delicious!

We always try our best to follow the recipe the first time and then adjust to our liking. The only change was boneless thighs and deep frying the chicken. This was absolutely great. Probably the best fried chicken I have made. Thanks Chef John this is a keeper.

It's easy to make and has a good taste.

Great recipe! I cheated and used KFC extra crispy chicken. I added some honey to the sauce just as a personal preference. But, it's good as written.

We absolutely love this dish!

Loved the recipe! I used Chicken Thighs, but will use Chicken Breasts next time, and cut the Cayenne Pepper by half. Super easy and after frying, I coated each piece, then placed in the oven a little bit!

Quick, easy, and absolutely delicious.

Okag

Good flavor, little oily

So...I'm a big reader of others feedback and tips. Tried the air fryer first. Tasted fine but just missing that fried chicken crisp you can only get in hot oil. I saved half my uncooked chicken and will try oil trying it tomorrow. Hopefully that will get me the results I'm looking for. Good flavor, good heat. Overall... still very enjoyable.

I replaced half the cayenne with smoked sweet paprika.