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Wingin’ It: Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans features a Nashville Hot

The fairly similar-to-Buffalo chicken dish known as “Nashville Hot” gets steered a bit more toward Buffalo chicken

By Skarekrow

Being a fan can be the kind of hard work that builds an appetite. That’s why Buffalo Rumblings brings you a recipe every week to pair with the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming opponent, featuring a custom wing sauce to make it more “Buffalo.” Our opponent this week: the Tennessee Titans.

When I first began exploring the spicy side of cooking I quickly came to a conclusion: Anybody can burn you, but not everybody can make you want to do it again. Nashville Hot is one of those dishes that can go either way. When researching this week I found plenty of recipes that go big on the burn (cayenne). With a little bit of care in deciding what inspiration I drew from, and the usual Wingin’ It tweaks, I think this might be one where the burn is remembered fondly.

Nashville Hot

Serves: About 8
Active Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 5-12 hours

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • About 4 lbs chicken (bone in and skin on)
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 Tbsp red (cayenne) pepper*
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk
  • 1⁄2 cup hot sauce
  • 3 large eggs
  • Vegetable oil for deep frying

Hot oil/wing sauce:

  • 1⁄2 cup hot sauce
  • 3 Tbsp honey**
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp red pepper

Directions

  1. Prepare the chicken: Generously coat chicken with salt and pepper, creating a dry rub over surface of chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours and up to overnight.
  2. Combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper, and 1 tsp salt in a wide, shallow container (like a pie dish).
  3. Whisk together buttermilk, hot sauce and eggs in a different wide, shallow container.
  4. Remove chicken from refrigerator and blot dry. Coat with flour mixture, then buttermilk mixture, then flour mixture again. Set aside.
  5. Heat oil to 350°F***: Cook chicken in small batches (probably about four). Each batch should take about 10 minutes, but can vary based on meat thickness. Remove when internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees and breading is browned; check internal temperature in the thickest part of the meat.
  6. OPTIONAL: I’m a big fan of finishing deep-fried foods by baking. This lets excess oil drain out and makes sure the inside is cooked properly. I did about 15 minutes at 350°F
  7. Prepare the hot oil: Very carefully ladle about 1⁄4 cup of the oil used for frying into a medium saucepan.
  8. Add hot sauce, honey, garlic powder and red pepper; stir until combined.
  9. Prepare dish: This is usually served on top of bread with a side of pickles. Brush the oil over the chicken right before serving.

Wingin’ It Tips

*This is adjusted down to be a little milder than most recipes. Anywhere you see red pepper, you can double or triple the amount if you want to push things.

**Brown sugar is traditional, but honey increases viscosity and stickiness, which is helpful for sauces that go on breading.

***If you have a deep fryer great. If not, for heaven’s sake get a candy/deep frying thermometer for $5. It can save your house. Deep frying can be tricky so get a meat thermometer too. Safety first!

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