Name: Oven Fried Nashville Hot Chicken
Prep time: 380 min
Cook time: 22 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 2 cups buttermilk; 1/4 cup pickle brine; 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning salt; 1/3 cup hot sauce; 3 large chicken breasts (.. cut lengthwise and then widthwise); 4 cups cornflakes; 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon cayenne; olive oil for brushing; 4 tablespoons cayenne; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 tablespoom smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning salt; pickles and white bread (... optional but highly suggested)

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Oven Fried Nashville Hot Chicken is the very best homemade hot chicken recipe baked crispy in the oven and each bite is spicier than the last. Oven fried chicken slathered in a spicy cayenne glaze, this Oven Fried Nashville Hot Chicken will be your new favorite way to serve up chicken.

So there is this little place .. you may have heard of it … called Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to being the home of the Grand Ole Opry and the start of many a country music career, Nashville is also knows for it’s signature take on fried chicken. We are not talking about any ol’ fried chicken, we are referring to the one and only Nashville Hot Chicken. Believe me when I tell you that this is a dish not for the weak. I am a lover of spicy foods but even I was afraid to lick my fingers on this one. My lips were burning, I was having sneezing seizures from the cayenne, I thought I was going to die …. but it is soooooo good!!!

WHAT IS NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN?

Nashville Hot Chicken, hot chicken, Southern hot chicken … however you refer to this super spicy fried chicken, Nashville Hot Chicken is what we are talking about. Nashville Hot Chicken is simply super crispy fried chicken that is marinated in buttermilk and spices before being fried and then covered in a hot spicy cayenne glaze that will leave your mouth on fire and your heart happy. If you like spicy food, this hot chicken needs to be on your Must Try Bucket List. As the story goes, this dish was created by a scorned lover to pay back a bit of Southern revenge on her man that was running around. She made the spiciest chicken she could but her plan backfired and instead of torturing her husband with a stomach of fire, he loved her hot chicken and Nashville Hot Chicken was born.

HOW SPICY IS HOT CHICKEN?

Nashville Hot Chicken is called hot chicken for a reason… it’s got a little somethin’ to it! Marinated in buttermilk infused with hot sauce and glazed with a cayenne and chili pepper sauce, this chicken is HOT! But like anything, this hot chicken recipe can be modified to your taste and if you are not ready to bring that heat index up to a ten, use a bit less cayenne and you will survive.

PS… the pickles help.

HEY.. THIS ISN’T FRIED CHICKEN?

No, this Oven Fried Nashville Hot Chicken is not it’s normal take either fried chicken or hot chicken but I have to be honest about something, I’ve never fried chicken a day in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE me some fried chicken but it’s just not something I do in my own kitchen. If I want fried chicken, I forego the mess and smell in my house (not to mention the potential fire hazzard of me frying ANYTHING) and I simply stop and buy myself fried chicken from people to do it way better than I ever could. That being said, just because this Oven Fried Nashville Hot Chicken isn’t fried, doesn’t mean that it’s not crispy and juicy and perfectly ‘oven fried’ chicken done stress-free and mess-free in the oven. If you want to fry up your Nashville Hot Chicken, go for it!!! .. but this girl pops hers in the hot box 🙂

HOW DO YOU MAKE OVEN FRIED NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN?

Easy! To make your Oven Fried Nashville Hot Chicken, start with the marinade. Whisk together buttermilk, pickle brine, your favorite hot sauce and two teaspoons of Cajun seasoning salt and then pour it into a large zip top bag.

Cut your chicken breasts in half (across) and add them to the buttermilk marinade. Push out the excess air, seal the bag and move your chicken to the refrigerator to marinate for at least six hours but overnight is best. Once your chicken is marinated, remove your chicken breasts from the buttermilk and move to a baking rack to drain. Add cornflakes to a food processor and pulse to create cornflake crumbs.

Move your cornflake crumbs to a large bowl and stir in the all purpose flour along with cayenne and salt. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a baking pan with parchement paper or tin foil. Dredge the chicken pieces in the cornflake crumbs, pressing firmly to adhere the crumbs to all sides of the chicken. Move the coated chicken to the baking pan and repeat until all chicken pieces are coated in cornflakes.

Lightly brush each of the chicken pieces with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes, turning your chicken over half way through the cooking time and continue cooking. As your oven fried chicken is baking, make your hot chicken cayenne glaze. In a small saucepan, add vegetable oil and butter and heat over medium heat. Increase your temperature slightly until you just start to see little bubbles start to form. Whisk together your spices in a separate bowl and then slowly start whisking into your heated oil. Once your oven fried chicken is done, remove from the oven and using a basting brush, coat both sides of your chicken in the cayenne glaze. Serve with pickles.

PRO TIPS FOR HOT CHICKEN

Pickles. Pickles will save your life. Traditionally, dill pickles and white bread slices is what hot chicken is usually served up with and once you try a bite and then follow it up with a pickle slice, you will see why. For the record, I am a bread and butter pickle freak so that is what I had with mine and honestly, do not try Nashville Hot Chicken without them.
Do not skip the marinating for anything. The spiced buttermilk adds great flavor to your chicken and letting it sit for at least 6 hours really helps tenderize the chicken.
Panko breadcrumbs vs breadcrumbs vs cornflakes. Cornflakes hands down it the best choice for this baked chicken recipe. I have tried making this hot chicken recipe a few times with a few lessons learned. Cornflakes lightly brushed with olive oil create the best crunchy oven fried chicken that breadcrumbs and Panko can’t compete with.
Let’s talk about that spicy cayenne sauce. See that part where I mention to whisk the seasonings together before adding them slowly to the heated oil? And see where I mention to heat the oil and butter over medium heat and then slightly increase the heat to bring the temperature up? That instruction is super important because the first time I made this recipe, my sauce broke!! How does oil and spice break??? Beats the heck out of me but all I can figure is that I heated my oil too hot and dumped in my spices all at once to create a lovely clump of ickiness. Go slow .. trust me .. this glaze is amazing!!

Enjoy!