Sweet & Spicy Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

Recipes

It's 2024, and we're still obsessed with Nashville Hot Chicken. It's probably safe to say that this trend is here for good.

So naturally: it's about time we figure out how to add some honey to it🍯

With the launch of our Cayenne Honey Hot Sauce, we took it upon ourselves to whip up an original sweet-heat recipe that took Nashville Hot Chicken to the next level.

Nashville Hot Chicken: Sandwich or not?

You can absolutely serve Nashville Hot Chicken bone-in: chicken thighs, breaded chicken breasts, even wings. But we have a soft spot for making a Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich, á la Hattie B's, Popeyes, Chick-fil-a, Whataburger — insert your spicy chicken vendor of choice.

On a hot chicken sandwich, you can top your spicy chicken with coleslaw and a nice toasted bun to help mellow out the heat from the spice blend. Call us chicken, but we don't need our spicy food to be nuclear-inferno hot – just a bit spicy, please and thank you.

Local Hive Cayenne Honey Hot Sauce is perfect for this recipe because, while it is decently hot, the honey blended into every drop mellows things out for a milder, sweet-heat flavor.

Ready to make Nashville "Not too hot" Chicken? Here are a few tips to help:

Thoroughly season the flour for your breading and mix together well.
Double-dip the chicken in breading to create a crunchy outer layer
Fry each piece of chicken as soon as you finish breading it. Otherwise, it will get soggy.
Baste each piece of chicken with the Nashville sauce while the chicken is still hot so it soaks in.

INGREDIENTS

2 chicken breasts, sliced into 4 sandwich-sized cutlets
Vegetable oil, for frying

For Breading:
½ cup buttermilk
1 TBSP Local Hive Cayenne Honey Hot Sauce
1 cup flour
½ tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 ½ tsp salt

For "Nashville Hot" seasoning oil:
½ cup leftover oil from frying chicken
2 tsp light brown sugar
2 tsp cayenne powder
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder

Sandwiches:
4 brioche burger buns buttered and toasted
bread and butter pickle chips
coleslaw
¼ cup mayo
Local Hive Cayenne Honey Hot Sauce

Coleslaw:
Green and purple cabbage, shredded
Apple cider vinegar
(optional) 2 TBSP Local Hive Cayenne Honey Hot Sauce
Local Hive Honey
Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Slice your chicken breasts into sandwich-sized cutlets. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for up to an hour to tenderize. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix shredded cabbage with apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Refrigerate.

2. In a shallow bowl or baking dish, mix flour, salt and pepper. In a separate shallow dish, whisk buttermilk and Local Hive Honey Hot Sauce.

3. On a stovetop, add 2 inches of oil to a small pot and heat over medium-high until it reaches 325°.

4. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour. Shake gently. Dip in buttermilk, then dip in flour again. Immediately fry each piece of chicken after breading.

5. To fry the chicken, gently place each cutlet into the oil. For best results, fry 1 cutlet at a time for 5 minutes, then check the chicken's temperature with a meat thermometer. Remove when it reaches 160º and place on a rack to cool.

6. In a small bowl, combine ½ cup leftover oil, brown sugar, cayenne powder, chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder. Stir and baste the cutlets while they're still hot.

7. Lightly butter the cut sides of the buns. Toast in a pan or toaster. To assemble sandwiches, spread mayo and Local Hive Honey Hot Sauce on each bun, then add chicken, coleslaw, pickle chips, and top bun.