NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN SANDWICH

Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich image

Traditionally, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches are seasoned with spices, dredged and fried before getting dipped in a spicy paste or sauce and served with white bread and pickles. Mine is similar but boosted with even more flavor because of my homemade seasoning mix! I like to cut the heat with a little extra sweetness by serving my hot fried chicken on a potato roll.

Provided by Food Network

Time 30m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 25

Ingredients

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 head red cabbage, cored, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1 cup shredded carrots
1 shallot, thinly sliced
Vegetable oil, for frying
Miss Brown's House Seasoning, recipe follows
2 skin-on, boneless chicken breasts (about 12 ounces each), cut in half crosswise (see Cook's Note)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot
4 split potato rolls, toasted, for serving
Dill pickles, for serving
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon Miss Brown's House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

For the slaw: In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage, carrots and shallot. Stir until evenly coated. Set aside while you prepare the chicken. The longer the slaw sits, the better it gets.
For the hot chicken: Heat 4 inches of vegetable oil to 365 degrees F in a Dutch oven. Prepare 2 sheet trays with wire racks. Generously sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with Miss Brown's House Seasoning.
Create a dredging station by putting the flour in a medium bowl. Next, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce in a second medium bowl. Working with one piece at a time, dredge the seasoned chicken in the flour to coat, then dip in the buttermilk mixture and back into the flour. Place onto one of the prepared sheet trays (keep the other tray clean). Continue until all the chicken is coated.
Carefully add the chicken, skin-side down, to the oil and cook, turning once, until it is golden brown on the outside with an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to the clean prepared sheet tray when ready.
While the chicken is frying, make the hot butter sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the hot sauce, brown sugar, cayenne and Miss Brown's seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When ready to serve, dip each piece of fried chicken in the hot butter sauce. Place each piece of chicken on the bottom of a potato roll and top with slaw and pickles. Drizzle extra sauce on top. Close each sandwich with a top bun.
Whisk together the onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in a medium bowl. Store any extra seasoning mix in an airtight container. Makes 5 teaspoons.