Serves 4.
Chicken is browned in oil in a large iron skillet, then transferred to a rack over a baking sheet to finish cooking in the oven. The spices add the Nashville style heat.
Buy a whole chicken and cut it in quarters or, to save time, buy 4 large chicken leg quarters. Same kind and same-size pieces mean all the chicken should finish cooking at the same time, too.
- Take chicken from the package, cut if necessary, rinse chicken pieces with cold water.
- Pat dry with paper towels.
- In a bowl or 2-cup glass measuring cup, combine and mix well:
- 1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have it, mix 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp white vinegar and let sit 5 minutes before adding...)
- 1 Tbsp Louisiana style hot sauce OR 1 tsp each cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, celery salt or salt.
4. Place chicken pieces in a large bowl. Pour milk mixture over top.
5. Turn chicken pieces to soak both sides.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate if not using right away.
7. In a large plastic food storage bag, combine:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 Tbsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion salt
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (or 3 grinds of the pepper grinder)
8. Stir or shake well to combine. Set aside.
9. In a 1-cup measuring cup, mix together Spice Sauce:
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp ground oregano
- 1/8 tsp onion salt
- 1/8 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp sweet (mild) paprika
10. When thoroughly mixed, pour half (1/8 cup of it) into another smaller bowl and sweeten this portion if desired by mixing in 1/2 tsp. brown sugar. NOTE: I leave out the sugar entirely but if you like sweet heat, add 1/2 to 1-1/2 tsp. of brown sugar to the second portion.
11. Set the Spice Sauce aside.
12. Turn chicken pieces in the bowl so that they are thoroughly wet with milk mixture. Pick up a chicken piece and let excess milk drip off. Place one piece at a time in the plastic bag of flour mixture.
If it's a ziploc bag, close the bag and shake to coat thoroughly.
13. Place floured chicken pieces on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
NOTE: If you want to double-dredge, you can re-dip floured chicken pieces in the milk mixture and shake a second time in the flour mixture. I find re-dipping the chicken in the milk rinses a lot of the flour off from the first shake. Might as well just coat thoroughly the first time.
14. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. convection, or regular oven 375 degrees F.
15. Pour enough canola oil in a large skillet so the oil is just under 2 cm deep (That's about the length of a pinky finger from the tip to the first joint. Never dip your finger into oil after turning the stove on! Turn heat to high, heating oil in skillet till it sizzles when a bit of the flour mixture is sprinkled over it. When oil is hot, transfer floured chicken pieces to the skillet.
16. Partially cover the skillet with a lid, or loosely cover with a lid folded from heavy aluminum foil.
17. Adjust heat so that chicken is sizzling in the bubbling oil but not burning. I turn the heat down to medium high after the chicken really gets cooking. Chicken pieces will brown at the bottom in about 6 minutes.
18. Then remove the cover and use tongs to turn the chicken pieces over. Turn chicken only once.
19. Fry the other side, pan uncovered, about 6 more minutes until both sides are golden brown. Don't worry about any pink you see in the flesh (usually in the uncoated crease of a wing) because you'll finish cooking the chicken in the oven.
20. Dispose of the parchment paper on the baking sheet.
21. Place a metal cooling rack on a clean baking sheet.
22. Using tongs, transfer the hot chicken pieces from the skillet to the cooling rack on the baking sheet.
Excess oil drips off the chicken onto the baking sheet.
23. Stir the first portion of Spice Sauce to mix again thoroughly. (Reserve 2nd portion for later.)
Using a silicone brush, baste tops of the browned chicken pieces with Spice Sauce.
24. Put the chicken in the preheated oven to finish cooking. Bake chicken about 15-20 minutes for chicken leg quarters and 30 minutes for thicker breast quarter pieces.
25. Test each piece for doneness, inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. Temperature should read 160 degrees F. when done.
26. Cooked pieces can be removed from the rack and covered with foil on a warm plate. Any undone chicken should be returned to the oven until ready. If chicken pieces (like wing tips) are browning too much in the oven, cover with foil.
27. After chicken is cooked and out of the oven, stir up the reserved 2nd portion of Spice Sauce and use a clean silicone basting brush to lightly brush sauce on top of the cooked chicken pieces.
28. To serve, place a slice of white bread on a plate and put a piece of the cooked, basted chicken on top. Garnish with a pickle.
If you make this with boneless chicken thighs you can serve it as a sandwich in a bun with sliced pickles. If you don't have pickles, soak cucumber slices in a brine of vinegar, salt, and a pinch of sugar while the chicken cooks.
Cut the heat in this sandwich by mixing up a bowl of:
buttermilk
mayonnaise
celery salt
orange zest (optional)
Drizzle the buttermilk sauce on the sandwich or serve on the side as a dip.
