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4 from 3 votes

Baked Nashville Hot Chicken

Prep Time1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade:

  • 4 chicken drumsticks
  • 3 bone-in chicken thighs
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup shaken buttermilk

Chicken Dredge:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
  • Pinch of pepper
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil sunflower oil, vegetable or grapes oil

Hot Chicken Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter or mild-flavored oil like sunflower vegetable or grapeseed oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper or more or less depending on your heat tolerance
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, add the chicken. Sprinkle both sides with salt and a few cracks of ground pepper. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken and flip, continuously, until covered in buttermilk. I used tongs for this job. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to marinate for 1 hour or overnight.
  • Prep the chicken dredge by adding the flour to a wide-rimmed bowl. To another plate, toss the bread crumbs with the salt, pepper and ground paprika. To a medium bowl, beat the 3 large eggs together. This will give you a good assembly line.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To a clean baking sheet, brush the surface with the the olive oil (or other oil) and transfer to the oven. (The oil will get really hot while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.)
  • Using tongs, remove the chicken, piece by piece, from the buttermilk, allowing any extra to run off. Dip the piece of chicken firstly in the flour, then the egg and lastly the bread crumbs. Feel free to sprinkle the tops and the sides of the chicken with the bread crumbs. I found it easier to do it this way. Transfer it to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
  • Place the chicken on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake on the first side for 30 minutes. Flip and cook on the opposite side for another 30 minutes.
  • While the chicken is cooking, let’s make the hot sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Skim the fat solids off the top and discard. This will leave you with clarified butter. Add the cayenne pepper, sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Warm until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
  • When the chicken is done cooking, brush the tops liberally with the spice/butter mixture. I found that what I really wanted was the paste that sits at the bottom; scoop that stuff out and brush