Name: Nashville-Style Hot Chicken
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 3 1/2-4-pound chickens, each cut into 10 pieces (breasts halved); 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons kosher salt; 4 large eggs; 2 cups buttermilk or whole milk; 2 tablespoons vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Texas Pete); 4 cups all-purpose flour; Vegetable oil (for frying; about 10 cups); 6 tablespoons cayenne pepper; 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon paprika; White bread and sliced pickles (for serving); A deep-fry thermometer

Image may contain Animal Seafood Food Lobster and Sea Life

Nashville-Style Hot ChickenJeremy Liebman

No doubt about it, six tablespoons of cayenne is a lot, but that's what Hattie B's considers "medium." For a milder heat, decrease to two tablespoons.

Recipe notes

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

These 77 Chicken Dinners Are Winners
Our favorite roast chicken, chicken salads, easy baked chicken, and more.
Where Soul Food Really Comes From
An expert schools us on the roots of one of America's earliest cuisines—and what's hot in soul food cooking right now.
It's Fried Chicken Time
Break your fear of frying at home with these 31 recipes for the quintessential Southern staple.
Super Spicy, Tongue-Tingling, Face-Numbing Favorites
From Nashville-style hot chicken to spicy Korean pork chops, these dishes are so mouth tingling they'll make you cry (in the best way).