Nashville. Nashvegas. Music City. Hot Chicken Heaven. Nashville is one of the best cuisine spots in the nation. Along with the city’s great innovative fusion cuisine, this ditty dreamer’s Mecca is home to some insanely good classic Southern soul food.
A unique twist on a southern staple, Nashville hot chicken has become the official food of the city. My homemade take on the blazing bite– Hot Chicken Waffle Sliders.
Now… I feel like I need a disclosure. When we say hot chicken around these parts, we mean HAWT. The famous chickenries (?) around here are known to have different levels. The ones for the tourists that wander over from the riverfront Broadway area, and the local. By local levels, I mean the ones reserved for people that have a home in the city to run back to so they have access to an outdoor hose to cool off with. This stuff doesn’t play. Probably some of the spiciest food I’ve ever had.
Luckily, by making this at home, you can go for tourist status or jump straight into the blazing fires of hell for a bit of local taste.
To get this nice kick in the seat of your pants, I am using a few bunch of our favorite friends– Sriracha, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, and even a shake or two of Old Bay. It sounds like a big jumble of flavors, but they all balance on the same spiced base and work together to create a delicious blended bite.
That red glare pouring out from the heavenly strips isn’t from a poorly placed lighting setup.That’s 100% from the seized, slightly sweetened, spirited heat of the chicken. Being a total pansy with spicy, I still absolutely love this crispy bite. The heat comes from flavorful additions, not just unbearable burn.
You’ve got to have a vehicle to deliver hell’s chicken. That’s where the waffles come in. Because, well, WAFFLES! Not much explanation required here. They’re just delicious. That’s all.
Toss whatever extras you want on top. I opted to use my verrrrrry first batch of garden tomatoes and lettuce. The tomato helps calm the burn a bit. The sauce is a simple garlic dill yogurt sauce that I stirred up last minute. A poor man’s tzatziki, if you will. I highly recommend a dairy-based sauce to cool things down a bit. It’s probably illegal or something to serve this still without it.
A taste of the spicy south from my Nashville kitchen to yours. Once you’ve burned through this iconic eat, you’re official.
Enjoy, y’all! —
- 4 chicken breasts, halved (or tenderloins)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ tablespoon pepper
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- 1 cup flour
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 plus ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper, ground
- ½ teaspoon oregano, dried
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 2-3 tablespoons cayenne, ground (Yes, 2-3 TABLESPOONS.)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon paprika, ground
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper, ground
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Waffles (use your fav recipe)
- Condiments (tomato, lettuce, pickle)
- Plain yogurt + salt, garlic, dill
- Combine salt, pepper, paprika of dry brine and sprinkle over chicken.
- Cover and refrigerate sprinkled chicken for 1-2 hours.
- Combine dry breading ingredients in bowl.
- Whisk egg, milk, water and Frank's in separate bowl.
- In a heat-proof bowl, add glaze ingredients, whisk, and set aside.
- Coat chicken in flour mix. Transfer to egg/milk wash. Return to flour mix and press flour into chicken for a thick coating.
- Set chicken to rest for 15 minutes to ensure crispier coating.
- Heat oil to 325 F while waiting.
- Fry chicken until crispy, about 10-15 minutes. (160 F temp check doneness)
- Remove ½ cup of the HOT frying oil CAREFULLY and mix with the glaze seasoning to combine.
- Toss chicken in the glaze mix to cover completely. Remove to rest on paper towel covered pan until cool enough to enjoy.
- Place hot chicken between two waffle quarters.
- Top with condiments, sauce, etc. as desired.
- Enjoy! -- More on SouthernFATTY.com.
Have you visited Nashville? Tell me about it below!
i’m here and this looks so, so good. i’m on a hot chicken kick right now. also: “A poor man’s tzatziki” HA.
Everyone should be on a hot chicken kick!
I actually work in medicine here at a local University. You were prob pretty close to my office! — Next time, be sure they let you out to eat. Or sneak out.
you’re just too much! my fiance wasn’t convinced that chicken and waffles could be good, but i corrected that mistaken opinion very quickly. he’d like something like this even better!
Chicken and waffles is thaaa best! You are absolutely right to correct him 😉
You are not messing around with this slider! Hattie B’s should start serving THIS!! It looks amazing : )
Right?! I demand a protest until they do.
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of fried chicken (not a fan at all indeed). Oh, I think this blog isn’t the perfect place to mention that, right? Awkward moment. I hope I won’t be ostracized for saying that. But the point is, these sliders look so good that I would easily forgive you for frying this chicken and enjoy one (perhaps, even a few). Do you need my mailing address, I mean? Nicely done, Phillip!
I’m not sure how to respond to this… WHO doesn’t like fried chicken?! I just… don’t understand. Hah. But thanks for the compliments anyway. Even if you are a fried chicken hater.
That’s why I didn’t mention in Instagram that (okay, you’ve got to have a seat now, Phillip, and better near your first help kit)…I’m not a huge fan of waffle cones either:) I mean I do love them, but I can easily have ice cream in any other “container”
LEAVE.
Holy cow, that looks delicious. I’m not sure I can handle Nashville hot chicken, though (my husband would love it!). BTW, we’re going to be in Nashville later this week. Any restaurants i shouldn’t miss? We like dives/bars and cool local places.
Thaaaanks! — I’m so awful at having a good go-to Nashville lost at the ready. If you are burger-crazed, the Local Burger at Fido on 21st & at PM near Belmont are amazing. Josephine on 12th is a great brunch spot. Always Hattie Bs for hawt chicken (venture to Charlotte Ave for a muuuuch faster visit than the downtown spot). I’d give ExperienceNash blog a peek. Matt over there is a fantastic source. Shoot me an email or something if you think you’ll venture out to a bar or coffee shop sometime while you’re here and have time. I’d love to try to come say hey. If not– another time. Enjoy!
Actually at Hattie B’s getting mild chicken right now.
How’d ya like it???
Very tasty! A little crowded for our taste but our friend says that’s just Nashville.
Oh ya. It gets wild in there. I sneak over to the one on Charlotte Ave. for that exact reason.
I have 5,000 Nashville restaurants I would recommend for you – I’ll keep it simple though! If you love Italian, Rolf & Daughters….if you’d like a Japanese pub, Two Ten Jack (get the takoyaki and garlic noodles), if you want a good sandwich, Mitchell’s Deli in Inglewood. Have an awesome time!
Ha! Thanks, Trish! We actually have Two Ten Jack here in Chattanooga, so maybe we’ll consider the other too (thanks for the recommendation about what to order though…I was perusing their menu this past weekend and was QUITE overwhelmed!). I appreciate the suggestions!
Mitchell’s for lunch! My husband’s friend actually said he wanted to take us there. Great coincidence! It was very tasty!
AAAHHH! I can feel sweat breaking out over my whole body! I would end up clawing at my lips if I tried this, and yet, I’m intrigued. I’ve never heard of glazing in the hot frying oil before. I’m sorry to admit this, but I’d end up starting with, like, 1/2 TEASPOON of the cayenne and see if I survived. Nice job, making this look so appealing to the frostiest spice wimp in history!
If you’re gonna do it, you gotta jump all the way in! This is just considered medium heat here 😉
I don’t do hot, but it’s tasty! (W tons of the yogurt sauce hah)
These look incredible!!
Kari
Thanks!
Holy [expletive]! That might be the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!!!! Can I organize a blogger potluck just so you can bring these????? haha!
Ummmm, duh! Any reason to eat!