If you're unfamiliar with the Nashville-culinary scene, Tin Roof Orlando is letting you chomp down on the hottest flavor in the city.

Nashville hot chicken is among the new additions to the restaurant's revamped menu.

"Apparently, that's the hottest craze these days," said Chef Ryan Hunt, Tin Roof Orlando's executive chef.

Chef took us into his kitchen to demo the southern delight. The main component is the sauce for the buttermilk-breaded chicken.

"I'm sure my boss is going to get on me for revealing our secret ingredient," Hunt said. "Gochujang. It's a fermented Korean pepper paste."

This dish has kick! Not only does Hunt put cayenne pepper in the sauce, but it's also in the seasoned flour and buttermilk marinade for the fried chicken.

As for the sides, Hunt recommends a potato salad made with ranch powder and ranch sauce, and Mexican street corn hit with Gochujang mayo.

Let's cook!

Nashville Hot Chicken

Ingredients:

5 ea buttermilk-marinated chicken tenders or breast (recipe below)
3 Tbsp Hot Lard Paste (room temp) (recipe below)
3 Crinkle Cut Pickle Chips
1 slice Untoasted Texas-Style White Bread

Instructions:

Toss marinated chicken in seasoned flour mixture of salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Deep fry or pan fry at 350-degrees until chicken is fully cooked at 165-degrees. Straight from the fryer, toss chicken in a hot lard paste to fully coat. Place chicken on top of bread. Garnish with pickles and enjoy.

Hot Lard recipe:

4 C Lard (Can substitute unsalted butter)
8 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 C Cayenne Pepper
4 Tbsp Honey
12 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
8 Tbsp Kosher Salt
8 Tbsp Gochujang

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and set the bowl on the griddle, whisking periodically. Once the lard is 90% melted, remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes to cool off a little bit. Then using an emulsion blender, emulsify everything together.

Buttermilk Marinade Recipe

2Q Buttermilk
½ C Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Mustard Powder
1.5 Tbsp Salt
½ Tbsp Pepper
½ Tbsp Cayenne

Method:

Combine all ingredients

Seasoned Flour
*Note: Quantity is large, so save and store remaining flour in air-tight baggie

8 QT All-Purpose Flour
½ C Salt
½ C Cayenne
3 Tbsp Paprika
3 Tbsp Black Pepper

Method:

Combine all ingredients.