Darryl Postelnick’s Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
 
Makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup whole buttermilk
  • ¾ cup dill pickle juice
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce
  • 4 (8-ounce) boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 3 tablespoons ground red pepper, divided
  • 2 tablespoons paprika, divided
  • 2¼ teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
  • Bacon drippings* or vegetable oil, for frying
  • 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 brioche buns
  • Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe follows)
  • Shredded iceberg lettuce
  • Sliced dill pickles

Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine buttermilk, pickle juice, and hot sauce. Add chicken, cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
  2. In a large shallow dish, combine flour, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon red pepper, 1 tablespoon paprika, and 2 teaspoons black pepper, stirring until blended. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, letting excess drip off. Dredge in flour mixture, and repeat. Each piece should be double dipped. Let stand while oil heats.
  3. In a large Dutch Oven, pour bacon drippings or vegetable oil to a depth of 2 inches, and heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350°.
  4. Fry chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of the chicken registers 165°, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken using tongs or a spider strainer, and let drain on a wire rack.
  5. Carefully ladle about 1 cup hot oil from pot into a glass measuring cup. Stir in brown sugar, chili powder, remaining 2 tablespoons red pepper, remaining 1 tablespoon paprika, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon black pepper until well combined. Brush hot oil mixture over both sides of each piece of chicken.
  6. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat, add buns, cut side down, and cook until lightly browned and toasted, 1 to 2 minutes.
  7. Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing on the bottom half of buns. Add lettuce, pickles, chicken, and top half of buns.
Notes
*Darryl uses Bacon Up®, prepackaged bacon drippings. It can found in the cooking oil aisle of the grocery store.
Recipe by Taste of the South at https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/nashville-hot-chicken-sandwich/