Cheers to the Weekend: Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders

I’m back with a new installment of my favorite segment on the blog, Cheers to the Weekend! I took a few weeks off from it so that we can revisit it with a bang! Homemade fried chicken tenders definitely qualifies as coming back with a bang, right? These aren’t just your regular fried chicken tenders though, those are too boring to share. These are actually super crunchy chicken tenders doused with a spicy sauce that takes them to the next level. I’m talking about Nashville Hot Chicken. If you’ve never tried it before, you’ve been missing out, but don’t worry, you can now make it at home for yourself. 

Nashville Hot Chicken is like fried chicken but on spicy steroids. It’s not for the faint of heart because it packs a punch, and even though it burns my mouth off, I still happen to be addicted to it. The great thing about making it at home is that you can make it as spicy or mild as you’d like. Whenever I get the idea to fry chicken at home, I find that it’s really time consuming and takes all of my strength and energy. Plus it also takes a while to cook if you use bone-in chicken, so I decided to take classic Nashville Hot Chicken and make it easier for everyone by turning it into Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders. This just means that they’ll cook up faster for you, which in turn means you can eat homemade fried chicken tenders even faster. And after all, isn’t this what we’re all looking for? To be able to eat fried chicken as simply and as fast as possible? I think so. 

Let’s start by marinating the chicken very simply with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Although it’s just seasoned with these basic ingredients, it really makes a world of difference. Try to marinate the chicken for as long as you can. If you can only do 30 minutes or an hour, then go for it! 

**Tip: For the most flavor, try marinating the chicken overnight!*w

Let’s talk about dredging. Pour the flour into a shallow dish. Whisk the buttermilk, eggs and hot sauce into a separate shallow dish. To dredge the chicken, dip each piece into the flour, then into the buttermilk, and once again into the flour.

**Note: If you want really extra crispy chicken tenders, I recommend double dipping the chicken back into the buttermilk and back into the flour.**

Place the dredged chicken on a baking sheet to air dry for a bit, at least 10 minutes. This allows the coating to stick to the chicken and not fall off during frying. 

Fill a dutch oven with about 4-inches of canola or vegetable oil and bring it up to 360 degrees F with a deep fry thermometer. Fry the chicken in batches, a few at a time so that you don’t over crowd the pot and drop the temperature of the oil. Fry until crispy and golden brown, about 6 minutes in total. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack, set over a baking sheet.

Keep the fried chicken tenders warm in a 250 degree oven while you fry the remaining chicken. That way you don’t end up with some pieces of cold chicken and some hot, or soggy pieces. 

Once all the chicken has been fried, you can make the spicy sauce that goes over the tenders. In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the spices, brown sugar (for a little sweetness) and about 1 cup of the hot frying oil. Yep, you read that right. Keep whisking until everything has dissolved and well combined. 

Then immediately pour the sauce over the fried chicken tenders. Thats what makes this Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders. 

 
You can decide just how hot to make the sauce by adding as little or as much of the spices as you’d like. Same thing goes for once the sauce is actually done. You don’t have to pour all of it over the chicken to completely coat it. If you like some spice, then just pour a little on each chicken, but if you love spicy, then you can just go ahead and drench each piece. 

Nashville hot chicken is traditionally served with soft white bread and pickle slices. They both cut through that heat. I like to use that super processed white bread (like Wonder bread), and this is probably the only time I ever eat white bread, too. Top each slice with a few tenders, sauce and lots of pickle slices. 

 
This chicken is best when eaten right away on the day you make it, because you don’t want to eat soggy chicken. Especially once you add the sauce because that’ll make it soggy fast. So if you don’t plan on eating all of it at once, then just pour the sauce on what you plan on eating.

If you make this recipe, along with any other recipe from the site, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram or Facebook and tag me and hashtag it with #CandidAppetite or #TheCandidAppetite. Once you start making these Cheers to the Weekend recipes, be sure to also tag it with #TCAweekend! I’ll be monitoring it all closely and share my favorites throughout! Happy Cooking!

5 from 1 vote

These Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders

These Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders are so much easier to make than the original, but taste just as amazing! They're great for lunch, dinner or a snack!

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

Chicken

• 2 pounds boneless chicken breast tenders
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• Vegetable or canola oil for frying

Sauce

• 6 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• white bread slices and pickles for serving

Instructions

• In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, salt, black pepper and 1 tablespoon hot sauce until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or over night.
• Fill a dutch oven with about 4-inches of oil and bring to about 360 degrees with a deep-fry thermometer.
• Pour the flour into a shallow dish. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and remaining tablespoon of hot sauce in a separate shallow dish. To dredge the chicken, toss each piece in the flour, then into the buttermilk mixture, and then back into the flour. If you want super crunchy crispy chicken, then you can pass the chicken through the buttermilk and flour once more. Transfer the breaded chicken to a baking sheet in a single layer, and let air dry for about 10 minutes.
• Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken tenders in batches, a few at a time, until crispy and golden brown, about 6 minutes total. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Continue frying the remaining chicken, keeping the already fried chicken warm in a 250 degree oven.
• To make the hot spicy sauce, whisk together the spices, brown sugar, and 1 cup of the hot frying oil until dissolved and evenly combined. Immediately pour it over the fried chicken tenders and serve with white bread slices and pickles. Enjoy!

Author: The Candid Appetite