This Nashville Hot Chicken recipe douses crispy fried chicken in a fiery cayenne butter sauce and then serves it on white bread with pickles. It’s a bold and flavor-packed Southern classic that’s perfect for weekend dinners, parties, or anytime you’re craving spicy comfort food with serious crunch.
Most people plan trips to Nashville for the country music, but I go for the famous hot chicken. This fiery, flavor-packed recipe is essentially everything I love about Southern fried chicken, but it kicks it up several notches with a blazing hot cayenne pepper sauce.
Homemade Nashville Spicy Chicken
Nashville hot chicken has deep roots in Music City and is widely credited to the family of André Prince Jeffries, owner of the legendary Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. Her great-uncle, Thornton Prince III, was the original creator. The story goes that his girlfriend, fed up with his late-night womanizing, made him an extra-peppery fried chicken breakfast as revenge, only for him to end up loving it.
My Nashville hot chicken recipe stays true to the original. It starts with juicy marinated chicken, double-dredged and fried until golden and extra crispy. Then it is tossed in a spicy cayenne pepper butter sauce. It’s everything you love about fried chicken, but bolder, hotter, and unapologetically Southern.
Traditionally, the crunchy, saucy chicken is served over slices of white sandwich bread to catch the fiery drippings and topped with crunchy pickle chips. Whether served in baskets or tucked into sandwiches, it’s messy, spicy, and completely irresistible.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you need to make Nashville hot chicken from the comfort of your kitchen:
- Chicken – I like to use a mix of white and dark meat. I typically break down a 3½- to 4-pound chicken into breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings. If you don’t want to break down a whole chicken like me, buy individual cuts instead.
- Brine – The chicken is marinated in a brine made from buttermilk, white distilled vinegar, grated garlic cloves, hot sauce, coarse salt, and ground pepper. This mixture pulls double duty, tenderizing the meat and infusing it with flavor.
- Dredge – For a crispy chicken skin, I coated all of the cuts in a mixture of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic and onion granules, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Wash – I made the egg wash from a mix of eggs, buttermilk, salt, and pepper.
- Oil – For frying, I use a neutral, high-smoke-point oil, such as peanut, canola, or vegetable oil. I also like to add a cup of rendered lard for extra flavor and authenticity.
- Sauce – I melt unsalted butter, cayenne pepper, light brown sugar, chili powder, garlic granules, onion powder, paprika, and coarse salt together to make my own cayenne hot sauce for the chicken.
- Bread – Just like the traditional version, I serve the hot sauce-slathered chicken over a slice of soft white bread.
- Pickles – I usually go for dill pickle chips here, but bread and butter pickles are just as delicious.
How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken
Marinate the chicken: The first thing I do is mix the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Then, I add the chicken to the bowl and coat each piece in the marinade. I cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate.
Prepare the breading stations: Right before I’m ready to fry, I set up my dredging stations. In one cake tin (or any wide, shallow bowl), I whisk together the dredge ingredients. In another shallow bowl, I whisk together the egg wash ingredients.
Heat the oil: I fill a heavy-bottomed 4- to 5-quart pot with oil about halfway. I add a cup of rendered lard and heat it over medium-low heat until it reaches 350°F.
Dredge the chicken: I remove the chicken from the marinade, then dredge each piece in the flour mixture. Next, I shake off the excess before dipping it into the egg wash. Then, I return the chicken to the flour for a second coating, then place the breaded chicken on a wire rack set over a sheet tray. I let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Fry in batches: I lower 2 to 3 pieces of chicken into the hot oil. I cook breasts and wings for 10 to 12 minutes and thighs and drumsticks for 16 to 18 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Once a piece is done, I transfer it to a wire rack over a baking sheet and keep it warm in a 200ºF to 225°F oven while I fry the rest.
Make the sauce: While the chicken is cooking, I add the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan. I warm the mixture over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and well combined.
Brush and serve: Once the chicken is done, I brush the hot sauce generously over both sides of each piece. I like to serve the chicken over a slice of soft white bread. Then, I add a few crunchy pickle slices on top, just like they do in Nashville.
Chef Tip + Notes
Don’t guess when it comes to the doneness of your chicken—use a thermometer. Cuts of white meat (like breasts and wings) are done when the internal temperature is 165°F. Dark meat (thighs and drumsticks) is done when it reaches 175°F. I usually pull the chicken out of the oil when it’s a few degrees away from the right temperature since it continues to cook as it rests. This process keeps the meat moist and helps achieve that perfect balance between crisp and juicy.
- Marinate as long as possible: You can marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours in the fridge. Remember: the longer it soaks, the better that spicy, tangy flavor works its way into the meat.
- Adjust the heat to your taste: You can scale the cayenne in the sauce anywhere from 3 tablespoons (moderate) to 6 tablespoons (extra hot). You can also reduce the hot sauce in the marinade or swap it for something milder, like a splash of pickle juice.
- Don’t skip the second round of dredging: It’s what gives the chicken that thick, crunchy coating that holds up to the sauce.
- Keep the oil temperature steady: It should be 350°F when you add the chicken. The temperature will naturally drop to 325°F after adding the chicken, which is perfect. If the oil gets too hot, the crust will burn before the meat is fully cooked through. Too cool, and the chicken will absorb oil and become greasy.
- Bake or air fry instead: For the air fryer, generously spray the breaded chicken with oil and cook at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping it halfway. For the oven, bake on a wire rack over a sheet tray at 400°F for 35 to 40 minutes, flipping halfway.
Serving Suggestions
I can’t make it down to Nashville for this spicy fried chicken every week, so I make it at home whenever I’m in the mood for Southern comfort food. I love it with some creamy coleslaw on the side to tame the heat. It’s also great with a big scoop of potato salad when I’m really hungry. A glass of iced tea is the perfect finish to cool things down.
Sometimes I’ll swap the white bread for a fluffy homemade waffle, à la spicy chicken and waffles.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can marinate the chicken the night before and bread the chicken a few hours in advance. Place the coated pieces on a wire rack in the fridge, uncovered, so the crust has time to dry out. This helps the chicken fry up extra crispy.
How to Store: Let the leftover fried chicken cool completely. Then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to place a paper towel underneath the chicken to absorb any moisture.
How to Reheat: Reheat the chicken by placing it on a wire rack over a baking sheet and warming it in a 375°F oven or air fryer until it becomes hot and crispy again.
More Fried Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Cutlets
- Chicken Milanese
- Fried Chicken Tenders
- Hot Honey Chicken Tenders
- Lemon Butter Chicken Cutlets
Nashville Hot Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken and Brine:
- 3 ½ to 4 pound whole chicken broken down into breasts, thighs, drums, and wings
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
- 5 finely grated garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- white bread slices
- Sliced pickles, can be dill or bread and butter
- oil for frying
For the Dredge:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic granules
- 1 tablespoon onion granules
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 4 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
For the Wash:
- 5 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
For the Sauce:
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons of cayenne – you can go up to 6 here, if you just love heat
- 2 tablespoons of packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of chili granules
- 2 teaspoons garlic granules
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 2 teaspoons of coarse salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the brine to a large bowl and thoroughly mix to combine. Cover and place the chicken in the fridge to marinate for 4 to 24 hours. The longer, the more flavorful they will become.
For the Breading:
- In a cake tin or wide shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic granules, onion granules, paprika, salt, and pepper. Set it to the side.
- In a separate cake tin or a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, salt, and pepper until well combined. Set it to the side.
- At this stage, add enough oil to a 4- or 5-quart pot to fill it halfway. I also like to add 1 cup of rendered lard. Heat it over medium to low heat until it reaches 350°F. Keep it at that temperature. Once the cold chicken is added to the oil, the temperature immediately drops to 325°F, which is perfect for longer cooking times.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge. Drain off any excess, then dip a piece of brined chicken into the seasoned flour one at a time. Press down on it from all sides to ensure it’s evenly coated. Lift it, shake off any excess, then over to the egg wash. Coat it on all sides, completely covering the flour in the whisked eggs. Now, drain off any excess liquid, as before, and return to dredging the flour, pressing down to completely cover it.
- Place them on a rack over a sheet tray and let them sit for up to 15 minutes, then repeat the process to bread everything else.
- Next, place the chicken, 2 to 3 pieces at a time, into the hot oil. Cook them for 10 to 12 minutes for the breasts and wings and 16 to 18 minutes for dark meat while flipping halfway through the process. They should be golden brown and cooked throughout. I place them on a rack over a sheet tray, then on a middle rack in the oven at 200 to 225°F. Then, I go back to fry up everything in batches. They will hold fine while you do this. While chicken breasts are done at around 165°F internally and dark meat at around 175°F, it’s okay if you temp them and pull them a few degrees under because they’ll continue to cook as they sit.
For the Sauce:
- While the chicken is cooking, I make the sauce. Add the butter, cayenne, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic granules, onion granules, paprika, and salt to a small saucepot and cook over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
- Once all the chicken is done cooking, brush or spoon the hot sauce onto both sides of the tenders.
- Serve a piece of chicken over a slice of bread with additional sauce and optional pickle slices.
Nashville Hot Chicken Recipe