RecTeq Nashville Hot Chicken

Ever since I was introduced to the Nashville Hot Chicken, it was a game changer. I’ll admit, I didn’t actually get it in Nashville, but I did get it from a reputable source – Hattie B’s in Alabama. I needed to re-create a hot chicken recipe. I needed that overdose of cayenne in my life again. Let’s see how what I did and why I did it.

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Recipe

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The Prep Table

We got a lot of items in today’s show. We’re going to marinade the bird in a buttermilk bath overnight, we’re going to use corn flakes to get that crisp, and a whole pile of cayenne to bring out that heat. I was going to quick pickle a red onion, but decided not to – wouldn’t have added anything extra other than a garnish, really. Was going to plate it with some quick oven fries too – but nah, we’re doing just white (ish) bread and pickles. This is all tailored to one of the Costco tenderloin packs – so around 8 tenders or so.

We’re also not going to fry these, but use our RecTeq as an oven and see how well these hold up. I’ll tell you now, this is one of my favorites I’ve done… so read along and enjoy.

The marinade was simple enough – Whisk up your buttermilk, a bit of that pickle juice and dump in some hot sauce and some flavorful seasoning. I used Salt Sisters “Dragon’s Breath” – like I did when I re-bounded from my BLT fail – and it didn’t disappoint. Once it was all whisked together, dumped it in a ziploc bag with the tenders and gave it a little massage and into the fridge overnight.

I’ll stop you there – yes, I’m aware there’s corn flake brand bread crumbs available. I had ’em in my basket for about $4.00. As I turned the corner, I saw store-brand corn flakes for $2.00. While we’re still battling the high costs, this was an easy decision. Plus I have cereal for later. MrsForensicBBQ was napping, so I didn’t food processor these.

I dumped 4 Cups of the cereal into a bowl, grabbed a glove and got to crunching. I ground some into smaller dust-like particles, and left some larger flaky ones to give the coating some texture. Highly recommend you do the same, as they turned out great. Mix up the flakes with some flour and an embarrassing amount of cayenne and get ready to bread.

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The Process

Jerky rack on top of a cutting board was my mess-saving maneuver today. Took out the birds and let them relax on the rack, dripping off any excess buttermilk blend. I flipped ’em after 5 minutes and really let the drips get on out of there. Then it’s just as simple as dropping the bird in the breading mix and letting it roll around, capturing all them corn flakes. I kinda press the coating into the bird to make sure we were getting crispy. Some of them got a second breading-round after sitting a minute, but the result I was happy with.

Once the RecTeq was fired up to 450 degrees, I brushed on a little olive oil on each side.

We let these go for about 25 minutes. They were definitely done around 15-20, but I was busy inside making up that signature Nashville hot so they were all nearing 200F IT when i pulled ’em out.

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The Result

Before we get to the finished result, you gotta check out this hot oil. Vegetable oil and butter got heated up and whisked in the HOT. So much cayenne. Flavored with a little garlic/onion/paprika/chili powder. Brought back Salt Sisters for another savory bite to accompany that cayenne. The oil was something else. Here we go!

This is what we have right out the RecTeq. You can see a little char, but didn’t impact the flavor whatsoever. We wanted crispy, we got crispy. I’m sure these would’ve tasted phenomenal at this point, without that hot oil, but we gotta do more. Dip your grill brush into the oil and get to the slather.

NOW we’re looking at flavor. That’s the hot chicken I’m used to seeing. I gave these a hefty dose to each side. The oil had that sizzle with it touched the bird and it was going to be good – I just didn’t know how good. After it set a little bit, I brushed even more on. You know I like spicy. I know I have to tone it down as I get older, but not today. Maybe tomorrow. Well, after the leftovers, but definitely soon.

Had to get you a close up of the complexity here. That oil was so dark from the cayenne. You can see it on the cutting board, it was a heavily darkened, seasoning coating we’re putting on here. The corn flakes gave it a great crisp. I was debating setting up the RecTec Matador and frying these up, but I’m so glad I didn’t. The oven method worked wonderfully. The only thing left to do was plate it and eat it.

And that’s the meal. I thought about doing a sandwich – throwing it on a bun, but nah. Maybe next time to mix up the posts. Didn’t need to. Some slices of bread to mop up the left overs, some pickles to cut the heat if necessary. How did it come out?

Absolutely great. This one had my nose running, which is always a great sign. The taste was awesome, the bite was everything I wanted – juicy chicken, crispy coating.. but that oil flavor. Out of this world. If you like Nashville hot chicken, you’ll fall in love with this one, no question. It does LOOK hotter than it was – granted, it was definitely hot, but it wasn’t “Shut the Cluck Up” Hattie B’s hot.

Another fun Saturday cook! We’ll see you next week!

Update 7/7: MrsForensicBBQ and I will be camping next week and then it’s on to the yearly SMOKEFEST! Go back and read my last two Smokefest Posts: Beef Tenderloin and Brisket and you know we play for keeps. I honestly don’t know what I’m making this year – it’ll all depend on what’s at the local market. I’ll be bringing my RecTeq Trailblazer, the arsenal of tools, and ideas – and let’s see where that takes us!

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The Recipe