Nashville Hot and Honey Chicken

(serves 4-6)

Over the past 10 years, I have been lucky enough to have traveled to Nashville, Charleston, Georgia, and both of the Carolina's. All of which locations I have seen a version of fried chicken on menus when eating out, even at some of the high end restaurants. To be honest, I’m usually not a huge fan or fried or breaded chicken, but for some reason I always end up ordering it at least once when visiting these towns.

This hot and honey chicken recipe is a healthier, less spicy version of the famous Nashville hot chicken you get in Tennessee and was modified from a dish that I saw on my favorite food blog, Half Baked Harvest. The chicken is baked so you still get that crispy outside and moist inside without the added calories of deep frying.

It reminds me so much of vacationing down south and getting to enjoy some real comfort food.

There is just something special about Nashville hot chicken that makes me order it whenever I see it on a menu. With having to eat at home a lot more these days, I decided to recreate a version of the dish myself.

Ingredients:

- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

- 1 cup of buttermilk

- 3 cups of corn flakes

- 1/4 cup of flour

- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder

- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

- salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

- 1/2 stick of butter, salted

- 3 tablespoons of honey (my favorite honey to cook with is linked below)

- 2 teaspoons chili powder

- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

- 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme

- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Clean and cut each chicken breast in half and place chicken in a large Ziploc bag with the buttermilk. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Crush cornflakes into fine bread crumbs and mix with remaining dry ingredients in a bowl. Remove chicken from buttermilk, shaking off excess, and coat in cornflakes mixture.

Place on a parchment lined cooking sheet and brush the tops with extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 17 minutes, flip the chicken over, brush the tops with oil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all of the sauce ingredients in a pan on the stove over medium heat until the butter is melted. Lightly brush the mixture onto the tops of the chicken and broil on high for 2-3 minutes. While the chicken is back in the oven, raise the sauce heat to medium-high until the sauce has thickened.

Remove the chicken from the oven and top with the remaining sauce and an extra pinch of sea salt. To make this meal feel authentic, serve with homemade grits, string beans, and a fresh baked biscuit!

Tip: Use an air fryer to reheat leftovers and keep that fresh baked crisp.

Just remember to use salted butter!

Links:

Salted Honey