Paleo Nashville Hot Chicken

My boyfriend is the meat expert in our household, so he gets credit for this delicious recipe. This chicken is gluten and dairy free, but you would never know it! It’s perfectly crispy and spicy with a little hint of sweet BBQ flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts

• 1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

• 1/3 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce (you want something vinegary - we used a wing sauce, but something like Tabasco would work too)

• 1-2 tbsp Habanero hot sauce (use more or less depending on spice preference)

• 1 egg

• 1 cup cassava flour

• 1 tbsp salt (and more for dry brining)

• ~2 cups of avocado oil (it’s important that there’s enough oil to cover half of the chicken breast in the pan)

• 3 tbsp cayenne pepper (use more or less depending on spice preference)

• 1 tbsp salt

• 1 tbsp coconut sugar

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Pat your chicken breasts dry and lightly cover surface of chicken on all sides with salt. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours to dry brine.

2. Whisk together your wet ingredients (coconut milk, egg, and hot sauces) and set aside. Mix together your dry ingredients for breading the chicken in a separate bowl (1 cup cassava flour, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper) and set aside.

3. Mix together your spices for the sauce (3 tbsp cayenne, 1 tbsp, coconut sugar, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder) and set aside. You won’t be using this until after the chicken is cooked.

4. Roll your chicken breasts into your flour mixture before dunking it in the egg wash mixture. Then flick some of your egg wash into your dry breading mix so that clumps form (you want these to stick to the chicken so there are clumps of breading when frying). Take your chicken from the flour and dunk it into the wet ingredients, then put in back in the flour again. You want each chicken breast to be completely covered with flour and clumps of flour.

5. Heat your avocado oil over high heat until it sizzles when you drop a pinch of flour in. Put your chicken breasts in and turn down the heat to medium-high and cook for 6-8 minutes per side depending on thickness.

6. When the chicken is done, take it out of the pan and put in on a wire rack to rest. Immediately after taking your chicken out, use about 1/2 cup of your hot avocado oil to pour into your spice mix. Stir vigorously until the spices are fully incorporated and you have a nice smooth sauce.

7. Brush each chicken breast with the oil sauce generously and serve! We had ours with sweet potatoes and greens. Delish!