If you have ever traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, then you may already be privy to a little joint called Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, the birthplace of the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich. According to an old southern legend, the origination of the hot chicken sandwich is a bit scandalous.
Allegedly, the creator of the spicy chicken sandwich is named Thornton Prince. Thornton, despite being in a serious relationship, had a history of being a womanizer. As rumor has it, one night when Thornton’s girlfriend caught him cheating, she decided to punish him by serving him chicken she’d soaked in hot sauce. Despite her thinking he would go down in flames, he actually quite enjoyed the fiery chicken and decided to create his own recipe for said punishment sandwich.
And so, the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich was born.
Thornton himself didn’t open his namesake restaurant. His nephew, André Prince Jeffries, can actually be credited with that. When asked about the secret to the sandwich’s success, André said, “There really isn’t a secret; just a ton of cayenne.”
While it’s typically prepared by marinating the chicken parts in buttermilk, breading, and deep-frying, before coating the chicken in a cayenne pepper-based paste, I wanted to make a healthier Nashville hot chicken recipe. So rather than deep fry, I chose to use the air fryer. And instead of soaking the chicken in just buttermilk, I took a page from another popular restaurant and soaked my chicken in a brine of pickle juice and water. You could, of course, add a splash of buttermilk, as this not only helps keep the chicken tender but also helps the breading better adhere to the chicken.
Some versions of this famous hot chicken include brown sugar, which you could also add, but I would recommend using Swerve brown sugar substitute if you go that route. I usually say if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. But if you can’t stand too much heat on this healthy Nashville hot chicken recipe, then the brown sugar will help cut back the heat a bit.
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
Chicken Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs or breasts I prefer thighs
- 2 tbsp hot sauce I prefer Frank's Red Hot
- ¼ cup pickle juice
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp salt
- pepper to taste
Nashville Hot Sauce Recipe
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Marinate chicken in water, 1Tbsp hot sauce, pickle juice, and salt and pepper for roughly 30 minutes to one hour. You can marinate longer, but if you leave the pickle juice brine on too long, it can start to affect the texture of the chicken.
- Add flour to one dish and whisk the eggs with 1Tbsp hot sauce in a separate dish (dredging station).
- Coat chicken in flour, then egg mixture, and then back to flour.
- Place breaded chicken on a baking sheet and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Set air fryer to the chicken setting or 375 degrees.
- Cook for 5 – 7 minutes on each side.
- Once cooked, toss in the sauce mixture.
- Serve with pickles (with or without a bun).
Notes
Nutrition
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