Nashville Style Hot Chicken

prep: 3 hours

cook: about an hour

serves: 6

special equipment:
 A deep-fry thermometer

to dry brine the chicken you’ll need…

1 3–4 pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces, cut breasts cut in half, discard backbone and wing tips

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

for the dredge you’ll need…

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons salt

for the dip you’ll need…

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon hot sauce (vinegar based, like Tabasco)

for frying you’ll need…

Safflower Oil, Vegetable Oil, Peanut Oil or Lard (yep, I said the “L” word)

for the spicy sauce you’ll need…

1 cup hot frying oil

4 tablespoons cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

let’s get to it…

Place the chicken in a large bowl and rub it with the salt and black pepper; cover and let it hang out in the refrigerator for 3 hours (or overnight if possible). Let the chicken stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes before cooking.

Set a wire rack inside a large rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Whisk the flour, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt together in a 9x13x2-inch baking dish (like a lasagna pan). Beat the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large (10-inch or 12-inch) skillet or other heavy straight-sided skillet (not nonstick!) to about ¾-inch deep. Prop the deep-fry thermometer in the oil so the bulb is submerged, but not touching the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 350°F.

Using 1 hand for dry ingredients and 1 hand for wet ingredients, dredge 1 piece of chicken in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess. Dip the chicken piece in the buttermilk mixture; shake off the excess. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture AGAIN and shake off the excess.

Place 4 to 5 pieces of chicken in the skillet, depending on how much room you have. Working in batches, fry the chicken, turning with tongs every 1–2 minutes. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady temperature of 325°F. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes for wings and 17 to 20 minutes for thighs, legs, and breast quarters, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken reads 165°F.

Remove chicken from skillet with tongs, allowing the excess oil to drip back into skillet; transfer the cooked chicken to the rack. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked.

And now, this is what makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so HOT:

Ladle 1 cup of hot oil into a small saucepan or heatproof bowl and whisk in the cayenne pepper, dark brown sugar and chili powder. Brush or baste the sauce over the Nashville Style Hot Chicken. Serve on a slice or two of white bread with a few pickles.