Hot Chicken Bites

Name: Hot Chicken Bites
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Soul Food
Ingredients: 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes; 1 cup milk; 2 large eggs; 1 tablespoon hot sauce; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 teaspoons chili powder; 2 teaspoons garlic powder; 2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying; White bread, for serving; Pickles, for serving; 1/2 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower); 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon paprika; Salt and pepper

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Prep 15 min
Total 40 min
Servings 4

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A bite-sized take on the popular Nashville hot chicken.

by: Macheesmo

Updated May 23, 2017

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Ingredients

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 quarts vegetable oil, for frying
White bread, for serving
Pickles, for serving

Chili oil:

1/2 cup neutral oil (I like sunflower)
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper

Steps

1

Cube chicken into 1-inch cubes. Trim off any large pieces of fat. Season with salt and pepper.
2

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk with eggs and hot sauce. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, chili powder and garlic powder.
3

Transfer chicken to milk mixture and coat. Then transfer to flour mixture and coat well. I recommend coating all the chicken pieces before you start frying.
4

Heat frying oil to 350° F. Fry chicken bites for about 6-7 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and crust is nice and crispy. When chicken is fried perfectly, remove it and let the bites drain on a wire rack.
5

Meanwhile, stir together chili oil ingredients in a small pan over low heat. Keep warm, but don’t get it too hot or you’ll burn the spices.
6

When chicken is fried, pour chili oil over the bites. Really coat them well.
7

Serve hot chicken bites on white bread with pickle slices.

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

The word on the street is that Nashville hot chicken started as a prank. The goal was to make the fried chicken so hot that it was not only inedible, but painful. Well, it turns out that really hot is really delicious! The first time I had Nashville hot chicken I waited an hour in a strip mall and ordered it as hot as I could get it. It was definitely hot, but I loved it! Instead of frying a whole chicken though, I decided to make a bite-sized version. This makes it a fun appetizer, but you do have to be careful with the heat. There’s more surface area with the bite-sized version so it can actually end uphotter than if you were frying a larger piece of chicken. Serve the chicken bites on white bread and with a big mound of pickles to help kill the heat a bit.