Nashville Hot Chicken Taco
This post is sponsored by Old El Paso
I am really excited to be partnering with Old El Paso. This is the first of many great taco creations you will see in the coming year! I was inspired to put Nashville hot chicken in a taco because all of the Old El Paso bloggers got together for a trip to Nashville where we ate so much hot chicken and so many tacos. I think I had at least 15 tacos and 4 different versions of hot chicken! It was so nice meeting some of my favorite bloggers and hanging out with old friends, and while I was making this taco I was thinking of some of the memories from that trip.
I’m not exaggerating when I say Nick and I were at Hattie B’s within an hour of my plane touching down.
We had slaw with the chicken so I thought that would be the best option for a topping on these tacos.
Fry the chicken like any other fried chicken, but put plenty of hot sauce in with the egg wash.
Nice little nuggets of fried chicken, perfect size to fit in a taco.
To make the chicken “hot chicken” you scoop some of that hot frying oil out of the pot after you fry the chicken, and mix it with cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss the chicken in that hot oil mixture.
Build the tacos with chicken first, then pickles, and then slaw on top!
These guys are goooooood. The refreshing slaw is a perfect match for the spicy chicken, and the combo of crunch and tender chicken is just right.
Serve with extra pickles and slaw of course!
Time of life with these beauts! ? @oldelpaso #oldelpaso #freshestbloggers
A photo posted by Becky Hardin (@thecookierookie) on
Thank you to Old El Paso for putting together such a fun group and delicious trip!
Nashville Hot Chicken Taco
Ingredients
slaw
- 1/2 head cabbage sliced very thin
- 3 red fresno chile peppers sliced very thin
- 2 carrots sliced very thin with julienne peeler or spiralizer
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- salt and pepper
chicken
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 1.5 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- salt and pepper
- oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper or more if you want it really hot!
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
tacos
- 12 Old El Paso Hard Shell Tacos
- 45 dill pickle slices cut in half
- chicken and slaw from above
Instructions
- Mix all the slaw ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to come together
- Slice the tenders into 3 nugget sized pieces. If any of the pieces seem wide, slice them in half the long way into thinner planks so they will fit into the tacos.
- Toss the chicken with salt and pepper and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Bring frying oil to 375 and preheat oven to 325
- Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl with the hot sauce. Pour 1 cup of the flour into another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Add 1/2 cup of the flour to the chicken and toss to coat. There should be a light coating of flour on each piece.
- In groups of 3 or so, dip the chicken in the egg wash to coat, and then toss in the flour mixture. Set aside on a plate until they have all been coated.
- Meanwhile, put the taco shells on a baking sheet and bake at 325 until crisp.
- Fry the chicken in batches of 6 to 10 depending on how big your fryer is. Do not overcrowd.
- Remove from fryer onto a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, mix the cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, and garlic powder in a metal bowl.
- After all the chicken is fried, very carefully spoon out 1/2 cup of the hot oil into the bowl with the spices. Be careful not to breathe in too heavy during this process! Whisk to combine.
- Dip the chicken pieces into the spicy oil and return them to the rack.
- Build your tacos starting with the chunks of chicken, followed by the pickles, and then the slaw on top.
Oh hellll ya!