Nashville Extra-Hot Fried Chicken
By America's Test KitchenPublished on May 14, 2013
Time
1½ hours, plus 30 minutes brining
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
BRINE
2 quarts water ½ cup hot sauce ½ cup salt ½ cup sugar 1 (3 ½-to 4-pound) whole chicken, quartered (see note)COATING
3 quarts peanut or vegetable oil 3 ½ tablespoons cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ¾ teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon dry mustard 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon pepperBefore You Begin
Chicken quarters take longer to cook than smaller pieces. To ensure that the exterior doesn't burn before the inside cooks through, keep the oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees while the chicken is frying.
Instructions
- Whisk water, hot sauce, salt, and sugar in large bowl until salt and sugar dissolve. Add chicken and refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add cayenne, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, garlic powder, sugar, and dry mustard and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to small bowl.
- Remove chicken from refrigerator and pour off brine. Combine flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl. Dredge chicken pieces 2 at a time in flour mixture. Shake excess flour from chicken and transfer to wire rack. (Do not discard seasoned flour.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat remaining oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Return chicken pieces to flour mixture and turn to coat. Fry half of chicken, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees, until deep golden brown and white meat registers 160 degrees (175 degrees for dark meat), 20 to 25 minutes. Drain chicken on clean wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Bring oil back to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. Stir spicy oil mixture to recombine and brush over both sides of chicken. Serve on white bread with pickles.
brine chicken
bloom spices
dredge
fry and brush
Time
1½ hours, plus 30 minutes briningYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
BRINE
COATING
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
BRINE
COATING
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
BRINE
COATING
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Creating a spicy exterior for our Nashville Extra-Hot Fried Chicken proved tricky; most techniques we tried kept the heat superficial. By blooming the spices (cooking them in oil for a short period), we created a complex yet still lip-burning spicy flavor. Injecting spicy flavor into the chicken required adding a healthy amount of hot sauce to the brine, making the flavor more than skin deep. Most recipes that called for fiery cayenne pepper added fractions of a teaspoon. Our Nashville Extra-Hot Fried Chicken recipe requires more than 36 times the usual amount.
Before You Begin
Chicken quarters take longer to cook than smaller pieces. To ensure that the exterior doesn't burn before the inside cooks through, keep the oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees while the chicken is frying.
Instructions
- Whisk water, hot sauce, salt, and sugar in large bowl until salt and sugar dissolve. Add chicken and refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add cayenne, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, garlic powder, sugar, and dry mustard and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to small bowl.
- Remove chicken from refrigerator and pour off brine. Combine flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl. Dredge chicken pieces 2 at a time in flour mixture. Shake excess flour from chicken and transfer to wire rack. (Do not discard seasoned flour.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat remaining oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Return chicken pieces to flour mixture and turn to coat. Fry half of chicken, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees, until deep golden brown and white meat registers 160 degrees (175 degrees for dark meat), 20 to 25 minutes. Drain chicken on clean wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Bring oil back to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. Stir spicy oil mixture to recombine and brush over both sides of chicken. Serve on white bread with pickles.
brine chicken
bloom spices
dredge
fry and brush
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