Nashville Style Hot Chicken

1. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with kosher salt and transfer into a bowl. Cover it and leave it overnight,
2. In a mixing bowl, mix the buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg together. Pour the prepared marinade over the chicken and make sure it coats all parts of the chicken. Then, cover the bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.
3. In a shallow flat dish, mix the flour and the salt. Take the chicken out of the marinade and “blot with paper towels.” Reserve the marinade for later. Put the chicken in the flour and coat it thoroughly. Place the chicken back into the marinade and coat all sides. Once again, put the chicken into the flour, coat it properly, and place it on the rack. Repeat these steps with all the leftover chicken pieces. Let the coated chicken sit out for 15 minutes so it dries up a little.
4. In a large pot, add the butter and lard. Mix it together and add the cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper on medium high heat. Cook until the fats begin to melt, then remove from the heat and keep the sauce warm.
5. In a cast iron skillet, add oil 1/3 of the way and heat it to 350 degrees F on medium high heat. Carefully, place the chicken in the hot oil with the skin side down. Make sure you are maintaining an oil temperature of 325 degrees F. Keeps frying until the “instant read thermometer” says 160 degrees F; this takes 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Transfer the chicken to the drain rack and lather with sauce.

Trivia

• Hot chicken is a specialty in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
• It is on the “must try” list of southern foods.

In 2016, KFC began selling Nashville hot chicken.