Daily Favorites: Nashville Hot Chicken

 

I had these extra chicken thighs and this whole box of corn flakes. And I'd always wanted to try it but haven't been to Nashville. I had high hopes and big expectations. 

The original dish uses bone-in deep-fried chicken and a lard glaze (or a butter and lard glaze). So to hit our calorie goal, I'm not deep frying or using butter or lard in the glaze. I used this recipe as a starting point, but still made some healthy alterations where I thought I could. The technique is very similar to the cheesy cornflake chicken I made a few days ago, but with a marinade that acts as the wet station. I like that because you can do it in advance, so it's one less step when it's time to cook. 

This has four layers and each one has cayenne peppers. I had no idea if it would be too hot or just right. Or possibly, somehow, not hot enough. You just never know. 

Although there's four layers, each one is really easy. I'll post the ingredients and then talk through the method.

Marinade 

1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup pickle juice

1/8 cup Crystal cayenne pepper hot sauce

sprinkling of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper powder

Seasoning

mostly cayenne and smoked paprika, with salt, garlic and pepper.

Dredge

cornflakes, smidge of flour, and the leftover seasoning blend

Glaze

Crystal cayenne pepper hot sauce with a few pinches of brown sugar.

In a big ziploc bag, place the fresh chicken pieces and add the marinade. The recipe said 6 hours, but I did mine for 2 and turned out great.

Put a layer of foil under the wire rack and apply non-stick spray to the rack. Place the wet chicken on the rack. Mix the seasoning in a bowl and sprinkle over both sides. Mix the dredge in a bowl and apply to both sides. 

I baked these thighs at 400 (but really 390 because my oven runs hot) for 33 minutes. 

With 5 minutes to go, get a small saucepan on the stove with a small layer of Crystal hot sauce over medium heat. Add pinches of brown sugar, stirring and tasting until it's how you want it. I probably used about a tablespoon of brown sugar by the end of it. 

When the chicken comes out, use a brush to apply the glaze to the top. (I didn't bother trying to get the bottom.) Serve with pickles and white bread if you want it. 

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Let's talk taste, then healthy stuff. 

Man, this was good. I would say the heat is exactly where I wanted it. Definitely hot and each bite builds. But not obnoxiously hot. In fact, I would say it was more hot than spicy, if that makes sense. I could take two bites in a row but then want a pickle to kill the heat. If you love heat, you could certainly make this spicier, or if you prefer it milder, you could go less cayenne in the seasoning. The smoked paprika is nice as the smokiness comes through as well.

It reminded me of buffalo wings, which makes sense. Both Frank's and Crystal are cayenne pepper based sauces. But I did feel like I could taste the layers of flavor, it wasn't one spicy punch on top, but deep hotness throughout the chicken.

- - -

I had read that Nashville places use Crystal sauce in their marinade. Pickle juice is an underrated ingredient, and I knew Chick-fil-A uses it in their marinade. Instead of buttermilk, I went with almond milk to save on cals. 

The cornflakes do a good job of giving a crunchy crust in the oven, to simulate the frying flour in oil texture.  

And for the glaze, instead of building it with butter or lard and adding cayenne pepper, I just went straight for Crystal, a zero-calorie cayenne sauce. I feel like that was pretty brilliant actually. I did allow myself to keep the brown sugar but kept it small. A tablespoon is under 50 cals. It was definitely worth it as the bit of sweetness really give it more than just heat. 

All in all, I would definitely make this again. I do think it was better than the other cornflake chicken as the cheese in that gets a little lost in the baking process. 

I took a picture of the ingredients that make this dish happen. First off, the Crystal bottle says that it contains 71 servings and I used half the bottle in this dish, lol. I'm super glad that I can find no sugar added pickles and other ingredients like bbq sauce these days. You really can't taste the difference.