This is THE BEST fried chicken you will ever have in your life! It is everything you would want in a chicken breast – crispy, tender, juicy, and a whole lot more flavorful. This is a copycat recipe, but I must admit, it is even tastier as you can adapt it to your smack. Here is the recipe for Dave’s hot chicken, including both sliders and sauce. Serve the sliders with some fries, pickles, and coleslaw to have a full experience. Yum!

Why Will You Love this Recipe?

Perfect Texture – The secret to the best-fried chicken is brining. I submerged chicken in buttermilk (the chief ingredient) and acid-based hot sauce so the muscle fiber could tenderize. After deep frying, the chicken will be incredibly juicy in the middle, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Coating For the Win: Double coating the chicken makes it extra crispy while keeping the insides succulent. Also, add some cornstarch and baking powder to the flour mixture so it will raise nicely and have a golden shade.

Homemade Sauce: Dave’s sauce has a really unique flavor and the secret is pickle juice. It is a blend of different condiments and spices which will give you an interesting smack at the and – spicy, acidic, and slightly sweet.

Recipe Variations

Change the Bun – If you want to elevate the sliders, you can make the buns at home. Use your favorite recipe; I love crisped-up garlic buns – their aroma and taste fuse amazingly with crispy chicken.

Alternate Everything – Because you’re making these from scratch, be free to adjust the spice levels to your liking. Taste the sauce and chicken brine to see what works for you the best. Personally, I love when it is extra spicy!

Tools You’ll Need

Frying Pan: A good-quality pan will make your life easier.
Kitchen Mallet: Optional, but recommended to tenderize chicken even more
Bowls: Use deep bowls for marinating and coating the chicken and for sauce.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

Dave’s Hot Chicken (Copycat Recipe for Sliders and Sauce)

Author: Laura Bais

Crispy fried chicken is a fast food staple, but this one is so good that it tastes like a fancy meal from a 5-star restaurant. Chicken is incredibly tender, double-coated in aromatic breading, and deep-fried to golden perfection. The flavor lies in a signature sauce that hits all the taste buds, as it is savory, spicy, acidic, and sweet all at the same time. This is a copycat recipe of Dave’s spicy chicken, sliders, and sauce, but slightly altered and, subjectively, more delicious!

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 4

Total Time 4 45

Course Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings pieces

Calories 1.478 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pieces chicken breast (large)
6 brioche buns

For Breading

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper (less or more, to your taste)
1 tsp MSG

For Brining

2 cups buttermilk
1 egg (large)
2 tbsp vinegar-based hot sauce
¼ cup pickle juice (with dill)
1 clove garlic (freshly grated)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika

For the Sauce

½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup ketchup
2 tbsp pickle juice
2 tbsp hot sauce (more or less, to taste)
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp dried parsley
2 pickles (finely diced, optionally)

For Frying

2-3 cups frying oil

Instructions

Note

This chicken is pretty spicy, so be free to alter everything to your own liking.

Marinate the Chicken

Slice chicken breasts into fillets as big as sliders. I like to leave them just a tad bigger, as they look better like that. Optionally, tenderize them a bit with a kitchen mallet.
Start with making a brine. In a big bowl marry the following ingredients: buttermilk, hot sauce (acid-based), egg, freshly grated garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
Leave the chicken to marinate for about 4 hours or more. I like to do it in the morning so it's ready in time for lunch.

Make a Sauce

Making signature sauce is just combining a bunch of different ingredients, so you can do it in advance and store it in the fridge.
Mix up mayonnaise, hot sauce (I used Sriracha), ketchup, pickle juice with dill, and honey. For spices, go for garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and dried parsley.
Optionally, dice some pickles very finely and combine everything.

Make a Breading

Breading is super important here, so make sure to add three main ingredients: all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and baking powder.
When you have a base, add spices: salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, MSG, and garlic powder.
Mix everything well to disperse spices evenly.

Coat the Chicken

Before you start coating, take a few tablespoons of brine and add it to the breading mix. Stir it in so you have a few crumbles but still airy breading.
Take a chicken fillet, roll it into the breading, dip it back into the brine, then back into the breading.
Arrange the coated fillets on a rack or baking paper and leave them to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Frying

Pour frying oil into the pan so it is about 2 inches deep. Heat it over high heat.
Before placing chicken in the pan, reduce the heat to medium. Transfer chicken into hot oil, but be careful not to overcrowd the pan, so each piece can fry perfectly.
Fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides; that's about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how big your pieces are.
Once the chicken achieves the desired color, remove it from the oil and arrange it on the plate you covered with a paper towel. The paper towel will absorb the residual oil.
Repeat the process until you have no more chicken left.

Assembling Sliders

Toast the buns for maximum taste and generously smear the sauce you previously made.
Place a piece of fried chicken on top and cover it with coleslaw and sliced pickles. Of course, you can change it for any other salad you fancy. Serve them with fries.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 1.478kcalCarbohydrates: 107.5gProtein: 18.7gFat: 110.2gSaturated Fat: 26gPolyunsaturated Fat: 50.7gMonounsaturated Fat: 20.7gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 187.8mgSodium: 2.592mgPotassium: 319mgFiber: 2.8gSugar: 12.7gVitamin A: 2.243IUVitamin C: 5.1mgCalcium: 295.2mgIron: 4mg

Keyword dave’s sauce, double breading, fried chicken, sliders, Spicy Chicken