Description
These Nashville Hot Chicken Sliders deliver spicy, crispy, juicy fried chicken nestled in soft slider buns topped with tangy coleslaw, sliced pickles, and a flavorful, spicy sauce for the perfect party or casual meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken Marinade / Dredge
- 6–8 chicken tenders
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup buttermilk (240g, or make your own with 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Flour Coating / Breading
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130g)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Deep Frying
- Vegetable oil (enough to fill skillet/wok approx. 2 inches deep)
Nashville Hot Sauce
- 2–3 tbsp cayenne pepper (adjust for spice preference)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup hot vegetable oil (taken from frying skillet)
Coleslaw
- 1 ½ cups shredded cabbage (mix of purple and green)
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Slider Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup ketchup
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Assembly
- 12 mini slider buns or 6–8 full sized buns
- 2–4 pickles, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Marinate: Remove tendons and fat from chicken tenders. If using mini buns, cut each tender in half. Whisk buttermilk, egg whites, salt, and pepper together. Add chicken and coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Prep Other Components: Prepare coleslaw by mixing cabbage, mayo, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix slider sauce ingredients in a separate bowl. Thinly slice pickles.
- Coat Chicken: Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. One piece at a time, remove chicken from marinade, shake off excess liquid, coat thoroughly in flour mix, dip back in marinade, shake off liquid, coat again in flour mix. Place coated pieces on a wire rack. Repeat for all pieces. Rest for 20 minutes.
- First Fry: Heat vegetable oil in a skillet or wok to 350°F. Fry one-third to half the chicken tenders for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway through. Chicken should be cooked through but light in color. Drain on wire rack. Repeat for remaining pieces.
- Second Fry: After 10-15 minutes, reheat oil to 350°F. Fry chicken again for 2-3 minutes to achieve a deep golden brown and crispy exterior.
- Make Nashville Hot Sauce: Combine cayenne, paprika, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl. Carefully remove ½ cup hot oil from skillet and pour over spices. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Using tongs, dunk each cooked chicken piece into the hot sauce, coating evenly. Rest on wire rack over baking sheet.
- Assemble Sliders: Warm buns on stovetop or microwave. Spread slider sauce on bottom halves, add pickles, place Nashville hot chicken on top, then add coleslaw. Cover with top halves of buns.
- Serve: Serve immediately while hot for the best taste and texture.
Notes
- Best eaten fresh for maximum crispiness and flavor.
- You can halve the recipe or freeze coated chicken for later frying and serving.
- To reheat fried chicken, use an air fryer at 300°F until crispy again.
- Adjust cayenne pepper in the hot sauce to your preferred spice level.
- Use a wire rack while resting fried chicken to prevent sogginess.
