Colonel Sanders and all of his dopplegangers are fixin' to get their butts kicked today as local favorite hot-chicken emporium Hattie B's releases their new incarnation of a chicken sandwich at both their locations today. They have been serving a different version of portable hot chicken from their traveling trailer and at Ascend Amphitheater events to great acclaim, but John Lasater and Nick Bishop Jr. have gone back to the drawing board to create a brand-new edition for their retail operations.
While the original sandwich featured thigh meat, the new $9 sandwich is made with a 5-ounce butterflied breast. Bishop commented, "Yeah, we had a lot of discussions about that, and both John and I preferred dark meat. But the consumer wants white meat." They needn't have worried, because thanks to a salty dry brining before frying, the sandwich I sampled was not at all dry and was instead crunchy and crispy on the outside and delightfully moist and juicy inside the crust. (And, yes, I recognize that some readers hate the word "moist." But that's exactly what it was. You don't have to say it on your own blog.)
A dollop of cole slaw cooled the heat a bit and added another nice texture contrast to the fried breast, which was also topped with what Hattie B's is calling "Nashville comeback sauce," their version of the famous Mississippi condiment. While there wasn't that much actually in common with the rémoulade/Thousand Island-like sauce that appears on the table at every diner in Jackson, the Nashville comeback sauce was a delicious combination of Hattie B's dry spice seasoning, honey and mayo and contributed an extra layer of sweet heat to the sandwich. And, of course, there are pickles on the sandwich to make it totally legit.
If you order your hot chicken mild (bless your heart), you'll find that the sauce kicks it up a notch. At higher spice levels, I doubt that it will actually be additive to the heat factor since the base chicken is spicier than the condiment. It takes a special bun to hold up to that big fried breast, sauce, pickles and slaw, and Charpier's Bakery has risen to the task with their artisan bun baked daily for Hattie B's.
The price of the sandwich includes one side dish, and that topping of slaw is basically an extra side, so I think it's in line with other dishes on the Hattie B's menu. Hopefully, since this sandwich should be a little quicker to cook and prepare than chicken on the bone, this development might actually speed up the line at both locations a little bit. It's worth the wait, but fast hot chicken is better than slow hot chicken. Drop by and pick up a sandwich and let us know what you think here in the comments.
