My Nashville Hot Chicken Flatbread is a spicy appetizer alternative to the messy original. Perfect for cookouts or weekend entertaining when you want to add a little spice to your life.
I can’t believe it’s almost July 4th. This year is flying by. My kids are mid-way through summer break and already bored. One of my kids is at camp this week. My youngest just finished up advanced math in summer school. So proud of her and my son is working 6 days a week at his summer landscaping job.
We have a family reunion in a few weeks and then vacation. Two weeks later the kids are back in school. I can’t believe I will have a senior in high-school, a freshmen and my baby is now in middle-school. No more kids in elementary school.
My Nashville Hot Chicken Flatbread was first posted over at my friend Michelle’s blog A Dish of Daily Life as part of her creative team. My next guest post will be White Chocolate Habanero Ice Cream. It is dish you don’t want to miss.
Even though my kids are older, it is still difficult to work from home in the summer. I will need to find productive activities to keep them busy. Unfortunately they don’t like most of my suggestions. Maybe we will find some good volunteer opportunities like teaching families or single mom’s, who are on assistance, how to purchase and cook healthy food within a budget. I need to stop talking about it and actually do it.
Last year I took my oldest daughter to Columbus, Ohio to play two soccer games in a day. Even though Columbus is about 90 minutes away, these games were regular league matches. It was nice because we had a decent amount of time between games so we went into the city for lunch. I had heard about this restaurant called Hot Chicken Takeover. 
Nashville Hot Chicken Flatbread!
It’s a local place that serves Nashville style hot chicken. This was before KFC jumped on the bandwagon. This place was great! Hot spicy fried chicken served with homemade sides and southern desserts. You order and then sit family style at long picnic tables. The food was great and my daughter and I had a great time. So after eating this awesome chicken, I had to make it myself. 
Now I’m not big on deep-frying, but this recipe doesn’t really work without this cooking technique. I decided to make my Nashville Hot Chicken into an appetizer so it would be less messy and easier to prepare ahead of time. For the flatbread, I used mini naan breads I found at Costco. I love naan bread and it’s also great for quick pizza’s for the kids.
Method: Brine your chicken in a buttermilk spice mixture. Allow to marinade for at least 2 hours but no longer than 3. Remove chicken, discard brine and pat chicken dry.
Whisk flour and remaining 4 teaspoons salt in another large bowl. Whisk 2 cups buttermilk, eggs and hot sauce in a large bowl.
Heat oil over medium-high heat to 325°F.
Dredge chicken in flour mixture, then dip in buttermilk mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl. Then dredge again in flour mixture and place on a baking sheet.
Fry the chicken until coating is golden brown and crisp. In a medium bowl, whisk remaining cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika and 1 cup of frying oil. Coat chicken strips with spicy oil. Place on top of flatbread and serve with buttermilk ranch dressing.
What is your favorite spicy appetizer?
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- 6 inch skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into 1 strips
- 5 cups buttermilk, divided
- 5 tbsp cayenne pepper, divided
- 4 tbsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp vinegar-based hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Texas Pete
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- cups Oil for frying; about 8
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 8 small flatbreads or mini naan breads
- Buttermilk Ranch Dressing for serving
- Whisk 3 cups buttermilk, 2 tbsp. salt, 1/2 tbsp black pepper, 1/2 tbsp. cayenne and smoked paprika in a large bowl.
- Add chicken. Cover and chill at least 3 hours.
- Remove chicken, discard brine and pat chicken dry.
- Whisk flour and remaining 4 teaspoons salt in another large bowl.
- Whisk 2 cups buttermilk, eggs and hot sauce in a large bowl.
- Fit a large heavy bottom pot or a Dutch oven with thermometer; pour in oil to measure 2 inches deep.
- Heat over medium-high heat until thermometer registers 325°F.
- Working with 2-3 pieces at a time, dredge chicken strips in flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dip in buttermilk mixture, letting excess drip back into bowl. (TIP: Always use one hand for wet and one hand for dry mixtures. Wash hands often, if needed.)
- Dredge again in flour mixture and place on a baking sheet.
- Working in batches, fry chicken, turning occasionally, until coating is golden brown and crisp. Return oil to 325°F between batches,
- Transfer chicken strips to a clean wire rack set inside a baking sheet.
- Let oil cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk remaining cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Carefully whisk in 1 cup frying oil.
- Coat chicken strips with spicy oil.
- Slice chicken into smaller pieces, if necessary, and place on top of flatbreads.
- Cut breads into quarters and serve with buttermilk ranch dressing.
By Quinn Caudill for DadWhats4Dinner.com © 2016
First published on ADishofDailyLife.com 05/24/2016
I hope you have a wonderful summer and remember your kids grow up much faster than you think, so enjoy the time you have with them.
I also will be bringing my Nashville Hot Chicken Flatbread recipe to Freedom Fridays, Friday Favorites, Fiesta Friday, Weekend Potluck, What’s Cooking Wednesdays. Checkout my Link Parties Page for other great places to find new recipes.
If you like my Nashville Hot Chicken Flatbread you will love my:
Sarah James @ Tales From The Kitchen Shed says
I love how you’ve recreated the recipe at home. Your hot chicken looks delicious, I like how you soaked it in buttermilk, no wonder it looks so succulent. Thanks for co hosting the Fiesta party 🙂
FrugalHausfrau says
Quinn, I’m looking at this and it’s like get in my mouth, now!!
Mollie