Today we get to make Nashville Hot chicken. If you’ve never had this elevated fried chicken let me try to explain. Nashville hot chicken is chicken that’s been marinated, battered, fried to crispy perfection, then smothered in a spicy blend of cayenne pepper and seasonings that have been mixed with the same oil the chicken was fried in.
Doesn’t that sound amazing!! Today we are going to kick it up a few notches by using rendered bacon fat to fry our chicken, by bringing the heat level to EXTREME, and we’ll be making pretzel buns to house this spicy masterpiece.
You can use any fat you want to fry the chicken, lard is often used but vegetable fat is ok as well (I’ll be using rendered bacon fat). When it comes to the spice profile be warned, if you follow this recipe as is you will be eating an extreme version of this dish. I have an affinity for spicy so for me this is right up my alley.
If you really want to nail this recipe, the secret is temperature. Temperature of the oil and temperature of the chicken. Being able to monitor both is the secret to achieving perfect results. If you can keep your fry oil at the right temperature during the fry you will ensure that your chicken achieves maximum crispiness. For me the easiest way to do this is with a MK4 Thermapen by Thermaworks.
For this recipe I’m looking for 350F. Keeping this temperature during the fry will ensure that my flour coating crisps up nicely and that my chicken cooks evenly.
Our next big obstacle is the chicken itself. Cooking chicken breast is very easy if you can monitor the temperature. I must admit that chicken thighs are much more forgiving when it comes to cooking but there’s something I just love about a perfectly cooked piece of white meat!
The way I monitor my fried chicken is by using a temperature probe that reads the internal temp of the chicken while it’s cooking. I set the alarm to whatever temperature I want (in this case 165F) and let it do it’s thing!!
I’ve used lots of external temperature probes in my kitchen but the one I trust the most is called DOT by Thermaworks.
It’s simple, affordable, and accurate. All I do is place the probe into the thickest part of the chicken, set my temperature alarm, and let it cook. Once the alarm goes off I’ll have perfect chicken every time!
Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions be sure to let me know.
Here are a few things I used in this recipe
- Carolina Reaper Pepper Powder
- Silpat mats
- cooling racks
- 17 inch cast iron skillet
- 15 inch cast iron skillet
- sheet trays
- Hard Bread Flour
- Thermapen MK4
- DOT Probe Thermometer
- Buttermilk Culture
- Louisiana Hot Sauce
- Fish Sauce
- Liquid Smoke
- Rendered Bacon Fat
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