Trisha Yearwood's Nashville Hot Chicken Meatball Sliders

The country star-turned-food guru shares a Music City themed recipe from her latest cookbook.

October 5, 2021

12:00 AM

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Trisha Yearwood has amassed numerous Grammy, CMA, and ACM Awards, countless multiplatinum certifications, and millions of fans in her three decades as a country music star.

But in 2008 the world was introduced to one of Yearwood’s other talents—cooking—when she released her first cookbook. Two more New York Times bestselling tomes and an Emmy Award-winning Food Network hit show (Trisha’s Southern Kitchen) later, Yearwood is back with her most personal cookbook to date. Trisha’s Kitchen Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family serves up 125 comfort-food recipes and features stories about her family and what’s most important in life. And much of it was inspired by the trials of the past year and the reminder that food can be healing.

“As much as 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, for me it ended up being the perfect time to write the new book. Being home every day, dreaming up new recipes, and testing them on my family was a wonderful way to spend the time,” she says. “This pandemic has been so difficult for so many families. One of the ways we comfort ourselves is through food. Cooking is therapy for me, and I think I learned the true meaning of ‘comfort food’ during this past year.”

And since she spent the year close to home, it made sense for her to share a Music City inspired recipe from the book: her Nashville Hot Chicken Meatball Sliders. Grab your apron, fire up Yearwood’s latest album Every Girl, and get cooking!

When I first moved to Nashville, the only place to get hot chicken was Prince’s Hot Chicken on Ewing Drive. These days, hot chicken is all the rage in Nashville, and you can find it in a lot of restaurants. I love it all, but Prince’s is still the gold standard for me. These sliders are my nod to Ms. André Prince Jeffries, who still serves up the best hot chicken I’ve ever tasted!

Nashville Hot Chicken Meatball Sliders

Makes 12 sliders.

Meatballs

1 pound ground chicken

1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 ounces blue cheese, cut into 12 (1⁄4-inch) cubes 2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce

1⁄2 cup (1 stick) butter

1⁄2 cup Louisiana hot sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 1⁄2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Sliders

12 slider buns

Pickle chips (I like bread-and-butter pickles)

Directions

1. MAKE THE MEATBALLS: Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, hot sauce, brown sugar, paprika, salt, black pepper, cayenne, and garlic and gently mix with your hands until combined.

3. Divide the meat mixture into 12 portions, then form them into meatballs using wet hands. (Meat sticks to dry hands.) Push a piece of cheese into each meatball and pinch the meat mixture around it to enclose the cheese.

4. In a large ovenproof sauté pan, heat the butter and vegetable oil over medium heat until combined and shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes to finish cooking the meatballs.

5. Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a small saucepot, combine the butter, hot sauce, honey, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring continuously, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mixture comes together, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the garlic powder, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth.

6. Remove the meatballs from the oven and pour the sauce over them. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with the parsley. Add a pickle chip to each bun, then set a meatball on top. Skewer with a toothpick. Serve warm.