JR's Sota-Hot Chicken Sandwich (My play on the Nashville Hot Sandwich)

[Spinaker]

About my recipe
Here is my take on the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. This is one I tweaked over time, from a recipe at AllRecipes.com. This one is a little bit sweet, some heat and it has more of a smokey taste to it with the chipotle powder in the sauce.

Servings
This is enough for 4 big sandwiches.

Time
24 hours to brine chicken
2 hours for breading to set (Optional)
10 mins to deep fry (325 F oil temp)

Serving sides
I don't do sides

Special tools
Deep fryer or a larger dutch oven. (Cast Iron skillet works to)

Ingredients

• Four Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

• Oil for frying
• 1 Cup Buttermilk
• 2 Cups Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Brown sugar
• ¼ Cup Dill pickle brine
• 1 Tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Lard
• ¼ Cup Honey
• 1 Teaspoon American Paprika
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Chipotle or Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• ½ Teaspoon Accent
• 4-Ounces of Panko Breading
• Fried Onion Straws
• 4-Ounces Grated Parmesan
• 2/3 Full Fat Mayo
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

Method
Marinade:
At least 4 hours and up too 24+ hours

• 1 Cup Buttermilk (Full Fat)
• ¼ Cup Dill Pickle Brine (Or your favorite pickle type)
• 2 Tablespoons Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce
• 1 Large Egg

Sauce:

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Lard (Yes, lard. It won’t kill you and your grandma would be proud)
• ¼ Cup Honey
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Chipotle Pepper or Cayenne. (Chipotle pepper has a smokier taste to it, which I love)
• 2 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon American Paprika. (You can use Hungarian as well)
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
• ½ Teaspoon Accent-MSG (Optional, but worth it. Also, will not kill you, live a little.)

Dredging Flour:

• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Teaspoons fine table salt or BBQ rub of your choice.

Breading

• 4 Ounces of Panko. (I like Kikkoman)
• 4 ounces of Fresh Grated Parmesan

(Mix all together and pulse blend to make an even consistency. )

Bread the Chicken

• Remove the chicken from the marinade and blot dry. Toss the chicken in the flour and salt mixture, then place the chicken back in the marinade until coated. Dredge the chicken in Panko/Parmesan mixture. Let the coating dry for 15 minutes. If I have time, I will let it sit in the fridge for hours to help it set up.

Make that Sota Hot Sauce

• Combine the butter, lard, chipotle/cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper over medium-high heat. Cook until the fat melts. Take your time with this step, let the lard and butter melt slowly. If you heat it too fast, the sugars will burn and the sauce will break. I like to set this up on LOW and let it simmer for an hour or so. You are really not cooking anything, you are just trying to melt the butter and lard. Keep the sauce warm until ready to use.

Fry the chicken
You can pan fry this chicken, but nothing beats deep-frying these thighs! Go the extra mile...do it for your family and your country!

• If pan frying, cook on each side until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees F. (160 F if using flavorless chicken breasts)
• Deep Frying: Set oil to 325 F- 350 F and drop them breaded fillets into that hot oil. Cook for 8 mins or until the meat reaches an internal temp of 180 F for thighs and 160 F for flavorless breast.
• Once fried, transfer the chicken to a rack to drain.

Fry the Pork Belly Slices
These are optional but nothing beats adding pork belly to anything!

• Fry the smoked or raw pork belly until crispy on the edges. Blot dry and set aside. (Save the oil for toasting them buns in)

Making the Sandwich:

• Toast the brioche buns in the same pan you used to fry the bacon or pork belly.
• Spread the Soy Sauce Mayo on one side of the toasted bun. (2/3 Cup mayo and 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce, trust me!)
• DUNK TIME!!! Pick up one fried fillet with a pair of tongs and dunk that SOB in the Sota Hot Sauce.
• After dunking in the sauce, add it to the toasted bun.
• Top the chicken fillet with somma that glorious pork-belly
• Add a few thin-slices of dill or sweet pickles.
• Add fried onion straws
• Once assembled, smash the heck out of it and cut it in half before serving.
• Serve sauce on the side for repeated dunkin’!!

Hope you enjoy my version. This is not a Nashville Hot sandwich, close but I realize it is not "authentic" and none of that matters to me.
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(I will update this picture when I make it again......this recipe deserves a better picture, but this will do for now.)

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[Jerod Broussard]

I don't do sides.

[Jerod Broussard]

Of course, after that many freaking ingredients, who has the time.

[Allon]

Jerod Broussard, With a sammie like that...
Who needs sides...

[Spinaker]

That is exactly it! Allon

[CaptainMike]

That looks like a really fun cook!

[Spinaker]

Thanks! You should give it a try, Mike. You would love it!

[shify]

Looks great. An in an odd coincidence, I had some leftover buttermilk in the fridge, so picked up some boneless thighs and dropped it in a buttermilk brine last night and was thinking in my head Nashville hot chicken... and this might tip me over the edge on that idea

[jfmorris]

Looks great Spinaker ! Added to Paprika for a future cook. I like that you use the chicken thighs. I like that better than breasts.

[Spinaker]

Yep, for sure. Adds a lot more flavor.

[Allon]

Get ya some dark meat...

[skipsdaughter]

Looks delicious!!!

[texastweeter]

I did something similar a while back but used bacon grease instead of lard. Mine a a bit spicier though...asbestos tongue and all.

[Spinaker]

yeah, I am down with more spice too. But I had to make it so that people up in MN would eat it. These Norwegians can't handle black pepper most of the time. LOL.

[Skip]

Wow! That sandwich looks far over the top!

[bbqLuv]

Don't do sides? Well, PBR is not a side, is it?
Actually, I would eat that sammie with or without PBR.

[Spinaker]

Great thing about PBR is all you gotta do is open the can.

[Spinaker]

For the record.........I reheated one of the thighs I fried up.......it might be even better the next day!

[bbqLuv]

So true for many cooks