Hot chicken sandwiches are a great way to impress at a party – or calm down a team of drunk people. Whichever your intention may be, this recipe celebrates Nashville while diverging from any other which may be on the internet. (Or maybe the world?) Brown sugar and honey are caramelized with and aromatic chicken stock, and emulsified with ginger infused chicken fat. Chicken this are brined overnight – then tenderized with lactic acid rich yoghurt – and finally breaded and fried. Try them out on your friends or enjoy a casual Sunday lunch with them. Recipe serves eight.

Ingredients

Eight boneless chicken thighs
32 grams salt
32 grams white sugar
1 liter water
1 dried Thai Chili
2 slices garlic

Reserved chicken fat
1 shallot, sliced thinly
15g ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
5 grams gochu garu (Korean chili flakes)

500g Whole Fat Yoghurt
20ml milk
5 grams gochu garu
15 grams pique or vinegar based hot sauce
5 grams salt
2 grams Freshly ground pepper

Reserved, seasoned chicken fat (About 30 grams)
20g brown sugar
20g honey
50g chicken stock
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs parsley
1 Bay Leaf
4 black peppercorns
1 2 inch strip kombu
50 grams butter
3 grams high quality pimenton picante

150 grams all purpose flour
10 grams salt
10 grams pepper

1 Loaf High Hydration Sourdough Bread

500ml Peanut Oil
1 Head iceberg lettuce
50 grams strong cheddar, sliced
French butter and mayonnaise to spread on sliced bread

Pimenton Picante and Maldon salt to finish


To begin your journey with hot chicken sandwiches, start with the chicken brine. Two days before you intend to serve, dissolve the salt and sugar with the 1 liter water. Add your chili and garlic slices. Clean the excess fat and thick skin from the chicken thighs and reserve. Cool the brine and let rest for eight hours. Drain, rinse with cold water and pat dry.

Next infuse your chicken fat. Melt all fat and thick skin on medium low heat with a touch of water. When totally rendered (about one hour), strain fat. Over medium heat, lightly caramelize shallot, ginger and garlic with a touch of salt over medium heat. About 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add gochu garu. Let cool completely and strain with a super bag. You should have about 30 grams. If not, replace missing volume with whole butter

Thin the yoghurt with the milk and pique and add salt, gochu garu and black pepper. Add chicken thighs. leave overnight. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.

Melt honey and brown sugar in chicken stock with thyme, parsley, bay, kombu and peppercorns and reduce and caramelize over medium heat until liquid has evaporated and the sugars take on an amber color. About 15 minutes. Add butter and pimenton picante. Leave to cool at room temperature and strain.

The day you plan to serve your chicken, remove from yoghurt and pat dry slightly. Reserve yoghurt. Season flour with salt and pepper. Place each piece of chicken back in yoghurt marinade and finally, back in seasoned flour. Reserve on a plate for at lease fifteen minutes so the flour can hydrate slightly. Heat oil to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat sauce in a sauce pan, wide enough to host one chicken thigh. Fry chicken thighs in batches so as not to crowd until crispy and golden brown. When out of oil, drain on a wire rack and brush or coat in sauce. Season with maldon salt and pimenton picante with sliced bread, spread with mayonnaise and softened butter, sliced iceberg lettuce and cheddar cheese.

Sliced, Fried Hot Chicken Thigh

Serve yourself and seven of your dearest friends or family or get in touch with us here if you’re in the Barcelona area and we’ll bring Nashville to you.