Nashville-style Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches worthy of its name and iconic reputation! Flavored with a sizzling hot sauce and spice blend that penetrate the crispy coating, and then paired with a cool, herby, tangy sour cream ranch dressing, these spicy fried chicken sandwiches are known for two things – heat and flavor!
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Fried chicken ranks very highly on the list of favorite comfort food for most people, without a doubt. And why not? When done right, it’s a glorious marriage of flavors and textures.
I started making my own fried chicken when I used to live in Lismore (in Australia), because the KFC there was just too bland to justify parting with my money over it. Plus, making it home meant that I could spice it up however I wanted, and do some experimenting along the way. One result of that would be this crunchy, crispy fried chicken marinated with all the flavors of bloody mary and scotch, that I shared recently.
Thankfully, Mr K isn’t the biggest KFC fan either, and prefers homemade crunchy fried chicken. And in our quest to find more amazing fried chicken flavors and recipes, I came across Hattie B’s Nashville Hot Chicken! Everything about that hot chicken called out to me, and I just HAD to make it. And things just haven’t been the same again around these parts.
After tweaking it to our taste, and making it over and over again – this is the ONLY Spicy Fried Chicken that I see myself making for the rest of our lives! And to make this recipe that much more tantalizing, I went ahead and also made Nashville-style Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches with pickles and sour cream ranch dressing! So PIN this recipe, bookmark it, save it, do whatever you have to, so that you don’t lose it. ‘Cause if you love spicy fried chicken, then this Nashville hot chicken is your jam.
And as far as spicy fried chicken go, I should know what I’m talking about. Having lived in Sri Lanka, the only fried chicken there is spicy. The heat/spice level there ranges from mild to hot, which for the rest of the world would be hot to burning hot. So when I say this is the best spicy fried chicken, I’m not playing! 🙂
But hey, the good news is that you can change the spice level from extra hot to just hot, by reducing the amount of cayenne pepper. If you want just mildly spicy fried chicken however… this isn’t the recipe for you, I’m afraid.
While Hattie B’s hot chicken recipe is what I fell in love with, hot chicken was reportedly first invented by Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, TN. It’s a Nashville classic and as much as I’d love to talk about the history of it, I feel like these guys do a much better job of it here.
You can use either chicken breast or chicken thighs for this Nashville hot chicken recipe. I chose chicken breast because it’s just my personal preference. However, with chicken breast, you have to be a little careful not to overcook the chicken. You won’t have that problem with chicken thighs however, so you’re welcome to use whichever cut you prefer.
Here are some tips on how to get PERFECT Spicy Fried Chicken
You need to heat the oil that you use for deep frying to about 380-400° F. This is because the oil temperature drops when you add anything to it. By heating the oil to a higher temperature, you ensure that the oil will reach the optimum temperature of 350°F/180°C when you add the pieces of chicken to it.
When cooked at this optimum temperature, the chicken will be crispy while being as less oily as possible.
This is also why you should NEVER overcrowd the pot either. If the oil temperate drops below 350°F/180°C for too long, the chicken will be oily and soggy.
To drain the chicken, place paper towels on a tray and then a wire rack over that. The fried chicken pieces can be kept on the wire rack, to drain, while maintaining their crispness.
The hot sauce for this spicy fried chicken is BEST brushed on the chicken while it’s still hot! It tastes better and the spices have a chance to really penetrate the crispy coating too. Since the sauce is fat based, and applied while the chicken is hot, it keeps the coating crispy as well.
I particularly LOVED pairing this hot and spicy fried chicken with the cool ranch dressing that I made with sour cream! It’s full of herbs, and is cool and tangy and is just a heavenly pairing with the hot spicy fried chicken.
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Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 2 Chicken breasts
Marinade
- Salt and pepper
Egg mix (for dredging)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup of milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1- 2 tbsp Sriracha
Flour mix
- 1 ½ cups of flour
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
Hot Sauce
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tbsp bacon fat or use all butter, or all lard
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp paprika use 2 tbsps, if you're only using 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 ½ tbsp cayenne pepper use 1 tbsp if you like it less spicy
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp allspice
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Sandwich
- 8 thick slices of white bread or 4 burger buns toasted lightly
- Dill pickles
- Shredded red cabbage and carrots for the colesalw optional
- Ranch dressing or sour cream ranch see below for recipe
Sour Cream Ranch
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp paprika
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Chicken marinade
- Halve the two chicken breast pieces and pound each piece until it's about 1 cm thick.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each piece.
Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken
- Mix the ingredients for the egg mix (for dredging). Set aside.
- Mix the ingredients for the flour mix. Set aside.
- Take a piece of chicken and coat it with the flour mix. Then dip it in the egg mix to coat and once more in the flour mix to coat.
- Set it on a wire rack (or on a plate that's sprinkled with flour).
- Heat the oil to about 380°F in a deep, heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Fry the chicken pieces (I only fry 2 pieces at a time to prevent overcrowding) for about 6 minutes, until the chicken turns golden brown and the internal temperature is at about 165°F.
- Place the chicken on a wire rack (the chicken can also be kept in a warm oven to keep it warm).
- While the chicken is frying, place all the ingredients for the hot sauce in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat to melt the butter and mix all the ingredients to form a paste.
- Once all ingredients are mixed, keep it warm until the chicken is fried.
- Brush the hot sauce generously over the fried chicken.
Sour Cream Ranch
- Place all the ingredients in a small food processor and pulse to mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste (add more lemon juice if needed too).
- Optional - mix some of the dressing with shredded cabbage and carrots to make a coleslaw.
Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches
- Place one piece of spicy fried chicken on a burger bun. Top with dill pickles and sour cream ranch dressing and serve with coleslaw.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
So what did we learn today?
We learnt how to make INCREDIBLE Nashville-style hot and spicy fried chicken.
I’ve given you some basic tips on how to make sure you get the best fried chicken.
And we learned a little bit about the history of the iconic Nashville hot chicken too!
If you liked these hot and spicy fried chicken sandwiches (Nashville hot chicken), don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER,INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
Vaani says
Damn! This one hit so many spots at once. I followed the recipe exactly and this helped me with my spicy fried chicken cravings. Definitely a keeper and I’ll make this again and recommend it to everyone. Thank you.
Ravin kumar says
I loved this so much! I made these and they were absolutely scrumptious! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Terry Parrish says
After searching for a spicy chicken recipe. I came across your recipe, it looked better than all of the rest. I am doing 12 thighs, so I used two sticks of butter, and tripled all other ingredients for the sauce. But stayed with the 2 table spoons of cayenne. It was perfect for my level of comfort. About to head to Walmart for the sour cream and slaw. Can’t wait to fry them up for dinner. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Nicola says
Delicious but didn’t deep fry them and made the following changes: dredged in egg mix, then in flour mix, then egg mix, then in 3 cups of crushed corn flakes. Spray with pam, and melted butter. Baked at 450° 15 minutes, flip and spray with pam and melted butter again, bake for another 15 minutes. Very crunchy!
Kara says
I made these and they were absolutely scrumptious! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Dini says
Hi Kara! Thank you so much for letting me know! I am so happy that you liked this recipe! 😀
Sarah says
Mum and I were are giving this one a go tonight as we’ve been searching for a great fried chicken recipe.
Fingers crossed it tastes as good as it looks! Xx
Dini says
YAY!! So glad you are! BUT it is seriously spicy… and that’s coming from me 😉 Let me know what you think of it! Lots of love to your Mum too! <3
Sarah says
Seriously spicy!! I’m having mine with a glass of milk and lots of the ranch. But it’s also seriously tasty!! Might cut the chilli down a bit next time (we made it as per your recipe). Definitely a winner for spicy fried chicken though.
cakespy says
yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I love hot chicken and this looks like the best use of it! Ever!
Dini says
Thank you Jessie! 😀 Hot chicken is awesome right? I hope you try it!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
I totally feel like KFC and THIS chicken shouldn’t be used in the same sentence. I mean, KFC whoooo??? This Nashville style chicken looks infinitely more delicious! Serious drool going on over here! Fried chicken is one of my favorite comfort foods too, and I’m thinking I need a few of these bad boy sammies up in my belleh PRONTO! Pinned! Cheers!
Dini says
hahaha!! Thank you Cheyanne! There’s nothing quite like homemade Fried Chicken! 😀
Aish says
Wow!!!! The photography is amazing. Loved your post too and I love anything that’s spicy. I’ll definitely give it a try
Dini says
Thank you Aish! We love spicy too. 🙂
Diana says
These really do look like the vest ever chicken burgers especially with the gorgeous glaze! Yum!
Dini says
Thank you Diana! 🙂 We are definitely addicted to that glaze!
Sarah says
You caught my attention with Nashville style, you made me drool at the idea of fried chicken…then you described it as an ultimate comfort food. Sold. 100% sold. Absolutely cannot wait to make this!!
Dini says
Thank you Sarah!! 😀 I hope you do like it!
Shinee says
I’m so drooling over this burger, you have no idea!!! Confession, I’ve never been to KFC!!! BUT I love fried chicken, and your version makes my mouth water. I/m so making this soon!!
Dini says
Thank you Shinee!
You aren’t missing too much by not having KFC 🙂 Although I do miss spicy chicken from the KFC in Sri Lanka.
Definitely let me know what you think if you do give this a go! It’s our favourite way to eat fried chicken.
Kylee @ Kylee Cooks says
OMG these look so juicy and delicious – and that dressing!! Definitely would be a hit in my house
Dini says
Thank you Kylee! 🙂 The sour cream ranch is one of our favourite dressings at home too!