Baked Nashville Hot Chicken
Authentic Nashville Hot Chicken is full of deep-fried deliciousness, and while we love a good piece of spicy-hot fried chicken, we think there are ways to get great taste and crunch without the heaviness of deep-frying. This recipe is baked instead of fried, and it's completely oil-free until the final seasoning at the end. Even using oil there is optional.
When breading this chicken, or any meal with a bread coat, you should create mise en place--a French term that means "everything in place". This is a mindful way to set up your cooking area so everything you need is on hand. One bowl should contain almond meal or flour, one a seasoned wet dip, and fill the third bowl with seasoned panko or regular bread crumbs. Dip the chicken in breading according to the usual method: almond meal, wet mix, panko. Try to only use the same hand when you dip, so you don't fully bread all of your fingers.
This recipe is baked without any oil; if you must you can give the chicken a quick spritz with a cooking spray, but it's fine without it. For an extra burst of spice, bloom an additional teaspoon of Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning in some olive oil, and then drizzle it over the chicken. Serve this with bread and pickles and a sweet, crunchy slaw, and sit back and enjoy the steamy Nashville heat.
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into 4 equal portions
- 1/2 cup almond meal or all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 teaspoons Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning, divided
- 1/2 cup panko crumbs, unseasoned
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil, optional
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Prepare 3 shallow dishes, each large enough for 1-2 pieces of chicken.
- In the first dish, add the almond meal.
- In the second dish, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and 1 teaspoon of Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning.
- In the third dish, mix together the panko crumbs and 1 teaspoon of Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning.
- Take a chicken breast, put it in the almond meal, cover completely and shake off any extra before moving to the next dish.
- Dip the chicken in the egg and buttermilk mixture.
- Move the chicken to the third dish and cover completely with the panko crumbs.
- Place the breaded chicken on a non-stick baking sheet.
- Continue with each piece of chicken until all of the chicken is breaded. Discard all remaining ingredients from the 3 dishes.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165°F.
- Remove chicken from the oven and rest for 10 minutes.
- In a small skillet, heat olive oil and remaining 1 teaspoon of Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning.
- Drizzle hot oil evenly over chicken before serving. Alternately, forego the oil and dust the hot chicken with additional Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning before letting it rest for 10 minutes. Serve.
