Cooking Lesson #289: Nashville Hots Chicken Sliders

The Nashville Collection

How y’all doin’? I think it’s time to spice things up a bit, and when I think about spicy chicken, I think about the Anchor Bar in Buffalo where the hot chicken wings craze started 50 or so years ago. Today, however, everybody is talking about Nashville Hot chicken—fried, grilled and even, as in this recipe—meatballs.
 
If you’re looking for big bold flavor to snack on here is the perfect recipe. Nashville Hots Chicken Sliders can be made with all-white ground chicken, all-dark meat ground chicken or a mixture of both. This is a great way to stretch a pound of chicken to feed 6 people. Each bite is bursting with flavor inside and out.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  15-20 minutes
Yield:  12 sliders
 
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce (or Frank’s Hot Sauce)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pound ground chicken (white, dark or a mixture of both)
2 ounces blue cheese, cut into twelve 1/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
 
For the sauce
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce (or Frank’s Hot Sauce)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons roasted garlic powder (I prefer Penzeys)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
 
For the slider buns
12 Kings Hawaiian slider or dinner rolls, split (are perfect for this recipe)
3 tablespoons Ranch Dressing
Pickle chips
 
Directions
To make the meatballs

1. Preheat an oven to 375⁰ F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the hot sauce, brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne and garlic in a bowl.
3. Place the ground chicken in the bowl and gently mix with your gloved hands.
4. Divide the meatball mixture into 12 portions and form them into 1-1/2-inch meatballs using wet gloved hands (chicken meat sticks to dry hands).
5. Push a piece of blue cheese into the center of each meatball and pinch to seal.
6. Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a large, oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides; about 5 to 8 minutes.
7. Transfer the pan to the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking.

To make the sauce

1. While the meatballs are cooking, combine the butter, hot sauce, honey and brown sugar in a small saucepan over high heat. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and cook until the mixture comes together; about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat, mix in the garlic powder, salt and pepper, and stir until smooth.
3. Pour the sauce over the cooked meatballs and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

To assemble the sliders

1. Put a teaspoon of ranch dressing on the top half of each slider bun.
2. Add a pickle chip to the bottom of each bun, then set a meatball on top. Skewer with a toothpick to hold it all together. Serve warm.

ChefSecret: Sliders can be paired with blue cheese dressing instead of Ranch to further enhance the big bold flavor and served with French fried carrots.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “This has been a very rough year. I’ve often thought over the last 12-months maybe this world is another planet's Hell.”
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