Nashville Comes to Albuquerque

Jennifer James 101, still one of my favorite restaurants in Albuquerque,recently featured Nashville-style Hot chicken on its Thursday $25 menu. Kudos to Nelle and Jennifer. They created a classier, but equally tasty, version of hot chicken. Their hot chicken took me back to Prince's and Bolton's, but I could actually eat this bird without gasping for air, water,wine or beer.

Tennessee Hot Chicken

 

If you want to create this in your own kitchen, here's a recipe from the June/July 2014 issue of Saveur.

NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN

1. 3 cups buttermilk
2. 3/4 cup cayenne
3. 9 tablespoons granulated garlic
4. 9 tablespoons paprika
5. 6 tablespoons onion powder
6. 3 tablespoons sugar
7. 1 ( 2 1/2 to 3 pound chicken) cut into 8 pieces, or 3 pounds chicken wings
8. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
9. Vegetable oil, for frying
10. 2 cups self-rising flour
11. 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
12. Sliced white sandwich bread and dill pickle chips for serving

 

Combine buttermilk, 1/4 cup cayenne, 3 tablespoons each granulated garlic and paprika, 2 tablespoons onion powder and 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl; whisk until smooth. Add chicken and toss to coat; cover and chill at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

The next day,drain chicken, rinse and pat dry; season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 inches of oil in a 6-quart saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 300 degrees. Stir remaining cayenne, granulated garlic, paprika, onion powder and sugar in a bowl; transfer half to another bowl and whisk in flour. Working in batches, dredge chicken flour mixture; fry, flipping once, until golden and almost cooked through, 6-7 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 150 degrees. Transfer chicken to paper towels.

Increase oil temperature to 350 degrees. Stir remaining cayenne mixture and melted butter in a bowl; set paste aside. Dredge chicken once more in flour mixture and fry until cooked through, 2-3 minutes more;drain briefly on paper towels and brush with reserved paste. Serve with bread and pickles.

 

Adjust the amount of cayenne to your liking. I know I'll be using a lot less than 3/4 of a cup.

 

 

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