Tennessee Hot Chocolate Recipes

Steps:

• Toss chicken pieces with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Transfer chicken to a bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Whisk buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce, and egg together in a mixing bowl. Pour marinade over chicken and stir to ensure each piece is thoroughly coated. Cover and let chicken marinate in refrigerator 2 to 4 hours.
• Mix flour and salt together in a shallow flat dish. Remove chicken from marinade and blot with paper towels. Reserve marinade. Toss chicken in flour until thoroughly coated. Return chicken to marinade, coating all sides; remove chicken from marinade allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Coat the chicken once again in flour mixture. Place on a rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces. Allow to sit out about 15 minutes to allow coating to dry out a bit.
• Place butter and lard in a large pot. Add cayenne pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Place over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until fats melt. Remove from heat; keep sauce warm.
• Fill cast iron skillet about 1/3 of the way with vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F over medium-high heat. Carefully place chicken into hot oil, skin side down. Maintain an oil temperature of 325 degrees F, adjusting heat as need. Fry until instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees F, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
• Transfer chicken to a rack to drain. Brush with the sauce on both sides.

Steps:

• Combine milk and half-and-half in a medium saucepan; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated (do not boil).
• Add sugar and cocoa, whisking until blended.
• Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla and bourbon.
• Pour into mugs; top with marshmallows, if desired.

Steps:

• Melt together over low heat just 1 cup of the milk with all the chocolate. Bring to a slow, rolling boil.
• While the mixture is boiling, use a separate saucepan to heat the rest of the milk with the white sugar. Whisk it for several minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Combine with chocolate mixture and keep on medium heat.
• On high speed, beat together the whipping cream and vanilla. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, and continue beating briefly just until the whipped cream forms soft peaks.
• Remove the chocolate from the heat, and divide into cups. Top each cup with a generous dollop of whipped cream and serve. Enjoy!
• Makes about 4 cups, to serve 4 to 6.