Nashville Hot Chicken Wings Recipe (2024)

Nashville Hot Chicken Wings - Spicy and Crispy!

Craving spicy chicken wings? You've come to the right place! Chicken wings are a perfect choice for the spicy food lover, as they're not only satisfying comfort food, but chicken wings go hand in hand with vibrant spices and piquant sauces.

This recipe takes an American favorite, Nashville Hot Chicken, and gives it the chicken wing treatment.

What You'll Love About This Recipe

The chicken is brined for extra moisture and juiciness, then breaded in a mixture of buttermilk, flour and cornstarch for a flaky-crispiness that will seriously blow your mind.

The wings are then brushed (or slathered!) with its signature spicy oil (Nashville hot sauce) that makes Nashville hot chicken so wonderful and flavorful.

If you love hot wings, you're definitely going to love this recipe.

Let's talk about how to make Nashville hot chicken wings, shall we?

Nashville Hot Chicken Wings Ingredients

• FOR THE BRINE
• Pickle Juice. For a spicier version, use the brine from pickled peppers, or a combination of both.
• Sea Salt.
• FOR THE CHICKEN WINGS
• Chicken Wings. Use 2poundschicken wings,separated, and wing tips removed. I like to save the wing tips to make chicken stock.
• Butter Milk.
• Eggs.
• Hot Sauce.
• All-Purpose Flour.
• Cornstarch.
• Spices. Smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and black pepper.
• Vegetable Oil. For frying. Peanut or canola oil are good.
• FOR THE NASHVILILE HOT SAUCE / OIL
• Cayenne Pepper.
• Brown Sugar.
• Smoked Paprika.
• Garlic Powder.
• Honey. Optional, for a touch of sweet.
• Salt and Black Pepper.
• FOR SERVING. Pickled slices, white bread

How to Make Nashville Hot Chicken Wings - the Recipe Method

First we brine the chicken wings in a flavor-building brine that keeps them moist and delicious.

Then they are dunked in a mix of eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce and coated in a spiced four-cornstarch mixture, nice and thick.

Then, fry up the chicken wings in hot oil until they're golden brown and perfectly crispy.

An instant read thermometer inserted should measure 165 degrees F internally.

FOR THE HOT & SPICY SAUCE/OIL

Next we bring in the spice factor by mixing some of the hot frying oil with a blend of spices. It includes cayenne, brown sugar, ghost pepper flakes, paprika, garlic, cumin and salt and pepper.

Use extra cayenne or ghost chili flakes if you'd like.

You can skip the ghost pepper flakes and dial back on the cayenne for a milder version.

Brush the hot oil over the chicken and serve with pickle slices and white bread. And extra hot sauce!

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Check out my Fried Chicken Wings Recipe page for further tips and tricks for making the best fried wings.
• You can skip the brining process if you'd like to save time. Simply pat dry the chicken wings and proceed with the recipe. The brine adds flavor as well as moisture, resulting in nice, juicy chicken wings, but you'll still get some great wings without brining.
• Always fry your chicken in a single layer. It is best to not overcrowd the pot or pan, or your chicken won't fry properly and could clump together. I usually fry my wings in batches.

Storage

Fried chicken wings will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator in a sealed container. Warm them up in the oven to enjoy them again, though they may not be as crispy.

You can store any leftover spicy hot oil in a sealed container for week.

Tools Used For This Recipe

Thermapen Meat Thermometer from ThermoWorks (affiliate link, my friends!)

A meat thermometer is the most foolproof way to ensure your chicken wings are cooked all the way through. I like to use my Thermapen from ThermoWorks to get the perfect temperature every time.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Traditional Buffalo Wings
• Boneless Buffalo Wings
• Crispy Baked BBQ Chicken Wings
• Grilled Chicken Wings with Alabama White BBQ Sauce
• Grilled Jerk Chicken Wings
• Smoked Chicken Wings
• See all of my Chicken Wings Recipes