The Best Nashville Hot Chicken Sliders

These Nashville Hot Chicken Sliders (sandwiches) are as good as the real thing: spicy, crispy, juicy fried chicken encased in soft slider buns along with coleslaw, sliced pickles and a yummy sauce. They are simple to make, hit all the right spots and are the ultimate guilty (not really) pleasure. Even my husband, who is the craziest, most obsessive fan of Nashville Hot Chicken, agrees!

Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.

Jump to:

• WHAT IS NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN
• ELEMENTS OF NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN SLIDERS
• HOW TO MAKE THE BEST, EXTRA CRISPY NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN
• VIDEO TUTORIAL
• PROCESS WITH PHOTOS
• FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• RELATED RECIPES
• THE BEST NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN SLIDERS RECIPE

WHAT IS NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

Nashville hot chicken is a spicier, hotter version of fried chicken originating from Nashville. Crispy fried chicken gets drenched in a Nashville hot sauce, which is made by pouring hot oil over a mix of spices. This sauce gives the chicken a signature red color and spicy flavor.

Nashville hot chicken is made with different cuts of chicken, with popular chains in Nashville such as Hattie B's, Party Fowl and Prince's serving their own versions. It is usually served with a cooling coleslaw, sliced pickles, honey and a slice of bread to help balance the heat. It also comes in different levels of spice, typically ranging from mild to extra spicy (I usually max out at a medium...).

ELEMENTS OF NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN SLIDERS

These sliders are composed of 6 key elements:

1. Fried chicken tenders. You can use breasts or thighs, but I find tenders to be most suitable. The tenders are dredged in a buttermilk and egg white mixture, then double coated in a flour mix before deep frying
2. Nashville hot sauce. This is a red, spicy "sauce" made with hot oil and spices. The fried chicken is dunked into the sauce while still hot to get the signature spicy look and flavor
3. Coleslaw. I cannot emphasize this enough: you need coleslaw! It adds a delectable crunch and sweetness to the sandwiches and beautifully balances everything out
4. Thinly sliced pickles. Again, I don't consider pickles optional. They're essential for a good Nashville hot chicken slider
5. Sauce. A simple sauce made with mayo, ketchup and spices is added to each slider for an extra oomph
6. Slider buns. You can use any kind of light, soft buns for these sliders. I made them using King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Slider Buns, which are a bit on the smaller size

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST, EXTRA CRISPY NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

How to get fried chicken crispy is an age old question, and becomes even more pressing when it comes to Nashville Hot Chicken, since the added element of the hot oil makes it trickier. After a lot of research and trials, I've determined that it comes down to 7 easy tricks / steps:

1. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs for the dredge

Instead of whole eggs, the dredge uses egg whites along with buttermilk. They help bind the chicken to the flour coating, and omitting the egg yolks reduces the amount of fat, which can make the coating a bit more greasy instead of crispy.

2. Use a mixture of flour, cornstarch and baking powder for the coating

Instead of just flour and seasoning, this recipe adds a little cornstarch and baking powder for the coating. The cornstarch provides starchiness which makes the coating crispier, and the baking powder creates little air bubbles during frying which also add to the crispy texture.

3. Double coat the chicken in flour ("breading")

There's usually a lot of debate between a single coating and a double coating when it comes to fried chicken, but I find that 2 thin coats yield the best result. The chicken is dredged in a buttermilk and egg white mixture, then coated in the flour mix, back into buttermilk and back into the flour, the excess shaken off between each coat. This ensures all parts of the chicken are well coated.

4. Rest the breaded chicken before deep frying it

Wait for 10-20 minutes before frying the chicken, resting it on a wire rack. This time allows the flour to absorb any moisture, and makes it stick better to the chicken. Rushing the frying can result in the flour coating peeling off.

5. Double fry the chicken

This is the single most effective thing you can do for the crispiest fried chicken! The first fry allows the chicken inside to cook, but the coating does not yet get crispy and deep golden. The chicken is then fried again in hot oil after resting for 10-15 minutes. During the second, shorter fry, the coating gains color and becomes crispy quickly without the chicken getting overcooked. Frying the chicken in one go requires quite a long time for the coating to get crispy, during which time the chicken can overcook.

6. Use hot oil for the Nashville hot sauce

Use oil straight from the wok while deep frying the chicken and pour it over the spices to make the sauce. This should be done when the chicken is almost done frying. If the oil is not hot, the sauce will seep into the chicken coating and make it soggy and oily.

7. Dunk the chicken into the Nashville hot sauce straight after frying

Just like you need to use hot oil for the Nashville hot sauce, the fried chicken needs to be hot when you dip it into the sauce. Ensuring both are hot and similar in temperature yields the best, crispiest result.

VIDEO TUTORIAL

Here's a video tutorial for this recipe:

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PROCESS WITH PHOTOS

The detailed recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but let's quickly go over the steps with photos to help you visualize everything:

Prep the chicken tenders and marinate them in the buttermilk dredge by mixing all the ingredients:

While the chicken marinates, prep the coleslaw, slice the pickles, and make the quick sauce:

Mix the flour coating ingredients together in a low bowl:

Once the chicken is ready, it is time to coat / "bread"! Working one piece at a time, shake off any excess dredge, and coat the chicken in the flour coating:

Shake off the excess, dip the chicken back in the buttermilk dredge, and then give it a second coating of the flour mix:

Rest the chicken on a wire rack while the oil heats up:

When the oil is hot, carefully transfer the chicken to the skillet and fry until it becomes a light golden color:

Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes, then fry it again in hot oil until it is a deep golden color and crispy:

When the chicken is almost done, take hot oil from the skillet and pour it over the spices to make the Nashville hot sauce, giving it a good whisk:

While the chicken is still hot from frying, quickly dunk it in the Nashville hot sauce, making sure you get spices on it:

Assemble the sliders with the buns, sauce, Nashville hot chicken, coleslaw, and sliced pickles. Serve & enjoy!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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