Hot Cauliflower is the New Hot Chicken

If you’re from the South or have ever visited Nashville, you’ve likely heard of Nashville hot chicken.

This tasty style of fried chicken originated in Nashville way back in the 1930s and has since claimed nationwide fame.

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Recently, I decided to go vegetarian, and I knew I needed to find some sort of protein. With that life change came the need for a remedy for my loss of Nashville hot chicken. That, my friends, is where Nashville hot cauliflower saves the day.

After doing several test runs and trying out lots of different recipes, I’ve created one that I think has the perfect combo of sweet and spicy.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Breading:

• 1 head of cauliflower

• 1 ½ cups milk (of any kind – cow, almond, soy, oat, etc.)

• 3 tablespoons hot sauce

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 ½ cups flour

• 1 ½ tablespoons salt

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

• 2 cups breadcrumbs (panko, chickpea, etc.)

Sauce:

• ¾ cup butter (plant based or regular)

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 4 tablespoons hot sauce

• ½ cup agave syrup

• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon rosemary

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F (191°C).

2. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

3. Chop the cauliflower head into florets sized about 1 inch around.

4. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the milk, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce.

5. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and smoked paprika.

6. In the last bowl, dump the breadcrumbs.

7. Taking a handful of florets at a time, dip them into the milk mixture, the flour mixture, the milk mixture again, and finally roll them in the breadcrumbs.

8. After coating the florets, place them on the baking sheet about an inch apart from each other.

9. Spray the coated florets with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes.

10. Take the florets out of the oven, let cool, and flip them over.

11. Put them back in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

12. While the florets bake, make the sauce. Simply combine all of the sauce ingredients in a large saucepan over low heat. Whisk together and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes.

13. Take the florets out of the oven and place them on a serving plate. Pour the sauce over them until all are well coated.

14. Allow to cool and enjoy!

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Try it out, mix up the spices to your liking, and let us know how yours turned out on social media @AuburnCampusRec! Happy cooking, and as always,

Be well, Auburn.

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Photography: Zoe L.