Cooking Therapy

The hot chicken is a specialty fried chicken that is notable in Nashville and its surrounding areas. It differs from regular fried chicken due to the spices used in marinating and coating it, making it spicier in flavor while still retaining that crispy, fried coating. My recipe uses boneless chicken sandwiched between a freshly baked biscuit and fried in “spicy oil,” giving it an intense flavor! Try yours today!

Serves: 6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Wait time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

6 large chicken breasts, cleaned and butterflied
2 tbs fresh ground black pepper
4 tbs kosher salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk, squeeze half a lemon in 2 cups of regular whole milk and stir)
2 tablespoons Korean chili paste
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups Canola oil for frying
8 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tsp ancho chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp paprika
Biscuits and sliced pickles for serving (see recipe for jalapeno cheddar biscuits here)

Instructions:

• In a large bowl add the buttermilk and half of each of the spices and mix. In a separate bowl, add the flour and the rest half of the spices. Add the chicken in the buttermilk mixture and marinade for up to two hours
• Remove the chicken from the bowl and pat dry
• In Dutch oven or a deep cast iron skillet, add some cayenne, paprika, red chili flakes, and garlic powder, and toasts until fragrant. Add oil and heat over a medium-high flame until it reaches 325 degrees
• Coat the chicken with the flour-spice mixture, one piece at a time, until it is evenly covered
• Add the chicken (as many as you can fit in the fryer maintaining a little space), skin down, frying until crisp and dark golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes each side
• Repeat until all chicken is fried
• Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.
• Brush with Korean chili paste on both sides
• Serve with biscuits and pickle
• Enjoy!