Red Hot Chicken Recipes

RED-HOT CHICKEN AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack in upper third. Scatter chickpeas and peppers in the bottom of a shallow, broilerproof 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Stir together butter, hot sauce, paprika, and pepper brine. Season with salt. Place chicken on top of chickpea mixture and brush both sides with all of butter mixture; season with salt and pepper. Roast, skin-side up, until chicken begins to brown and a thermometer inserted into thickest parts (not touching bones) reads 160 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Switch oven to broil. Brush chicken with pan drippings and broil until skin is charred in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly dress watercress with squeezed lemon and pan drippings. Serve chicken-chickpea mixture with watercress, flatbread, and lemon.

CHEF JOHN'S NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Toss chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Transfer chicken to a bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Whisk buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg together in a mixing bowl. Pour marinade over chicken and stir to ensure each piece is thoroughly coated. Cover and let chicken marinate in refrigerator 2 to 4 hours.
• Mix flour and salt together in a shallow flat dish. Remove chicken from marinade and blot with paper towels. Reserve marinade. Toss chicken in flour until thoroughly coated. Return chicken to marinade, coating all sides; remove chicken from marinade allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Coat the chicken once again in flour mixture. Place on a rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces. Allow to sit out about 15 minutes to allow coating to dry out a bit.
• Place butter and lard in a large pot. Add cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Place over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until fats melt. Remove from heat; keep sauce warm.
• Fill cast iron skillet about 1/3 of the way with vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Carefully place chicken into hot oil, skin side down. Maintain an oil temperature of 325 degrees F, adjusting heat as need. Fry until instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
• Transfer chicken to a rack to drain. Brush with the sauce on both sides.