The secret to making a Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich worthy of the Music City

Welcome to Clubhouse Eats, where we celebrate the game’s most delectable food and drink. Hope you brought your appetite.

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By now, you’ve assuredly witnessed the Nashville Hot Chicken craze. The satisfyingly spicy fried chicken’s popularity went from 0 to 60 mph seemingly overnight; however, with a versatility that spans the Scoville heat scale (all depending on the composition of the dish’s requisite spice rub), it’s conceivable that Nashville Hot Chicken is one of the few things in life that has the potential to satisfy everyone. Well, anyone who eats chicken, that is.

With origins dating back to the 1930s, Nashville Hot Chicken — as its name suggests — is a representative dish for Music City’s black community. Yet, for the better part of a century, this staple of regional southern cooking could only be found there. Today, the fiery comfort food is making appearances all across the country; however, the most authentic examples are rooted in the capital city where the dish was born. And while the South may be known for its hospitality, don’t expect Nashville’s longstanding hot chicken purveyors to welcome you into their kitchens anytime soon. (They won’t divulge their secrets, either.)

Food

In an attempt to protect the source of its addictive spicy poultry, Prince’s Hot Chicken, the recognized origin of the dish, has stopped allowing media into its kitchen, while John Lasatar, the executive chef who developed the spice blend for Hattie B’s (a relatively newcomer to the hot chicken circus), only tells reporters that the typical base includes cayenne pepper, sugar, and paprika.

Fortunately, Katie Davis, the director of food and beverage at Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club, hasn’t taken a vow of secrecy when it comes to the golf club’s hot chicken sandwich. And while she shares her recipe with us here, she also points out that the spice mixture that you use can be straightforward and simple. “It doesn’t have to be fancy,” she says. “It can be as basic as cayenne pepper, salt, and granulated garlic.”

Just don’t skimp on the heat. According to Davis, the biggest mistake home cooks make is not creating a truly hot-and-spicy finished product. Also, use chicken thighs instead of breasts, since “they’ll be moister and carry better flavor.”

Bluegrass Yacht and Country Club’s Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 medium boneless chicken thighs (clean the pockets of fat and skin before soaking)
2 Brioche slider buns
3 oz. Low Country Slaw (recipe below)
2 dill pickle slices

Hot Chicken Soak: 

2 large eggs, beaten
1/3 cup hot chicken spice
1 tsp. Worcestershire 
1 tsp. hot sauce
 
Hot Chicken Flour Mix:

1 cup all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tsp. Lowry’s seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper 
 
Hot Chicken Spice Mix:

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
 
Hot Chicken Oil Dip:
1 cup melted duck fat or vegetable oil
2 tbsp. hot chicken spice 

Preparation:
 
Begin by soaking the chicken thighs overnight.
 
Remove the chicken from the soaking liquid, then dredge it through the hot chicken flour, making sure the thighs are coated evenly.
 
Heat a large amount of oil (either in a non-stick skillet or in a deep fryer) to 340 degrees F.
 
When the oil reaches its temperature, fry the chicken thighs until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. (approximately 6 to 8 minutes)
 
While the chicken is frying, butter and toast the brioche buns in a dry skillet or on a flat top.
 
When properly fried, remove the chicken and quickly dip it in the hot chicken oil dip mixture.
 
Place the chicken on a roasting rack set over a sheet tray and liberally season the chicken on all sides with hot chicken spice mix.
 
Place 3 oz. of low country slaw on the bottoms of the two toasted brioche buns.
 
Add a chicken thigh to each slider, then top with the dill pickle slices and the remaining half of the brioche bun.
 
Low Country Slaw
 
Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. celery seed 
 
Slaw mix ingredients:

1/2 large head cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 head of purple cabbage, soaked and rinsed 4 to 5 times to remove some of the color, then thinly sliced
1 large carrot, shredded 
1/4 bunch chopped Italian parsley
 
Preparation:

In a large bowl combine slaw ingredients and dressing and mix well.

Golf.com Contributor