Nashville Hot Chicken

Nashville hot chicken has an ability to fool your taste buds: For a split second, you're hit with a slightly sweet sauce. But then, the layers of pepper kick in, and you're left reaching for the jug of ice water, beer, or milk—or absolutely anything that can soothe the burn.

Hot chicken is not for the faint of heart (or, let's be honest, those with sensitive stomachs). However dangerous, it is seriously tasty, and the tongue-torching heat releases enough endorphins to keep people coming back—and standing in line—for more.

What Is Nashville Hot Chicken?

Nashville hot chicken is fried chicken that is glazed in a cayenne-infused butter sauce. Before that, however, it's brined in a hot buttermilk marinade and coated in a pepper-spiced flour mixture. In other words, it's hot at every level.

As the name suggests, it is a famous dish in Nashville with origins that trace back to Prince's Hot Chicken. In the 1930s, a scorned woman made what would become known as the Music City's most iconic dish.

Believing her boyfriend, Thorton Prince, was stepping out on her, Prince's girlfriend decided to make him a plate of special fried chicken. Not realizing she'd gussied up the chicken with extra pepper and hot sauce, Prince dug in. But instead of falling out of his seat, he fell in love—with the chicken.

He took the idea, perfected it, and soon was dishing out fried chicken plates at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. The restaurant is still going strong almost 100 years later, and it remains the hot chicken spot when in town.

What other places serve Nashville hot chicken?

Just like the best acts down on Broadway, nothing good from Nashville stays in Nashville. Prince's has been imitated time and time again, so Nashville hot chicken is available all over Nashville, and all over the South for that matter.

Down the road from Prince's, legendary Nashville restaurant Loveless Cafe has their own version customers love.

"I was just starting to work with the Loveless Cafe when Nashville Hot Chicken was really starting to take off," says Scott Peck, executive chef at Loveless Cafe. "Loveless Cafe was built on fried chicken and biscuits, and working at a place that has been making incredible fried chicken for over 70 years, it was natural for us to start playing around with recipes so that we could give our customers a little more of that Nashville experience.

"In my opinion, what we came up with at Loveless Cafe was close enough to the original that everyone would know it is Nashville hot chicken, but also distinct enough that people would know that this is Loveless Nashville hot chicken. We started off running this item as a side dish several years ago, but the requests for it were coming so often, we quickly moved it to our full-time menu," Peck concludes.

How Spicy Is Nashville Hot Chicken?

Well, it's not called hot for no reason. But the thing about Nashville hot chicken is not that it's the hottest thing out there. Instead, it's a bit sweet, spicy, and buzzy. Put it another way, as a Southern Living Test Kitchen pro said, Nashville hot chicken has a flavor that "hums."

But let's be honest: The tastebud fooling is real! Butter and brown sugar temper the spicy sauce just enough to make it balanced and addictive. Still, this chicken is spicy. We just like to think it's the perfect amount of spicy, one that just has you coming back for more.

Ingredients for Nashville Hot Chicken

This fried chicken builds flavor from the marinade all the way up to the glaze, so there are a few key ingredients in the list. Here's what you'll need:

• Buttermilk: This is standard fried chicken marinade material. It loads the chicken with flavor and helps tenderize it.
• Pickle brine and hot sauce with garlic: These ingredients join the buttermilk in the chicken marinade. Pickle juice is a Southern fried chicken secret for flavor, and of course the hot sauce is starting the layering of hot, hot, hot flavors.
• Chicken: We call for a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, but you can buy the pieces you prefer, whether's all thighs, all wings, or a combination. "The preferred cut of chicken is a leg quarter—dark meat is the best due to its fat content," Peck says.
• All-purpose flour: This is the key ingredient in the chicken breading. It'll be joined by several spices.
• Black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper: The spices for the breading.
• Canola oil: You'll use this to fry the chicken and—spoiler alert—make the spicy glaze, too.
  

What's in the Secret Sauce?

There's a secret part of Nashville hot chicken. The heat in this dish is built, layer upon layer, and that includes a last-minute glaze with a secret "sauce."

The sauce or glaze for Nashville hot chicken is traditionally made with some of the cooking grease the chicken is cooked in. Why? It's loaded with flavor—and the oil is easily absorbed into the chicken breading. Butter is also sometimes used. We use both in this recipe.

"The sauce must contain cayenne pepper for the heat but must be balanced with some other spices like paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, and a touch of sugar," Peck says.

For the rest of the sauce, you'll also need:

• Butter: For richness and an unmistakable sheen.
• Cayenne pepper: We're not doing with the heat.
• Light brown sugar: This is where the immediate spicy-sweet flavor comes from.
• Salt, pepper, and paprika: Seasonings to round out the flavor.
  

How To Make Nashville Hot Chicken

This is only a brief recap of how Nashville hot chicken is made. The full recipe is below, but this gives you an idea of the process:

• Step 1. Marinade the chicken: Soak the chicken in the buttermilk-hot sauce marinade for 4 to 24 hours. The chicken will absorb some heat and tenderize while it sits, so don't shorten this window.
• Step 2. Bread the chicken: Build some more layers of heat by dredging the chicken in the flour-cayenne mixture, then dipping it again in the marinade, before dredging one last time in the flour mixture. Let the chicken sit for about 10 minutes so the breading will adhere before to the meat before it's cooked.
• Step 3: Fry the hot chicken: Once the oil reaches 350°F (and not a second before), gently lower the breaded chicken pieces into the oil. (Do not drop them in. Use tongs.) Fry until the thickest portion of the chicken reaches 160°F, and keep rotating the chicken so it browns evenly. Repeat with the remaining pieces, being sure to let the oil come back up to 350°F before adding the chicken.
• Step 4: Make the hot sauce: Scoop some of the cooking oil out of the pan, and add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Stir to combine, then brush the chicken with the glaze just before serving.
  

What Do You Serve With Nashville Hot Chicken?

Traditionally hot chicken is served with a few slices of white bread and pickle chips. This is not a fancy dish, and it is not a sandwich, though many people try to make it that.

"The white bread is not just there to soak up the grease but for you to eat with the chicken," Peck says. "The sweetness of the bread and the very savory chicken makes for a great pairing and well-rounded dish. The pickles then add a nice change of texture and taste while also helping to cleanse your pallet. I will typically start eating my pickles when I need to let the burn subside a bit before going back for more hot chicken."

Can You Adjust the Heat on Nashville Hot Chicken?

You could scale back the heat in this recipe if you wanted. Cut down the cayenne by a tablespoon in the breading and sauce, and use less hot sauce in the marinade. But honestly, the point of Nashville hot is that it is hot, so don't cut back too much.

If you want mildly spiced chicken, you could skip the cayenne glaze, or you could make a classic fried chicken recipe and just sprinkle on some hot sauce for little bursts of heat.

Test Kitchen Tips for Frying Chicken at Home

Frying chicken is a labor of love. It’s messy, and it can be difficult to maintain a steady oil temperature. A cast-iron pan will help maintain heat, and they are easier to clean than a standard stainless steel pan. (Do not fry in nonstick pans!)

However, Dutch oven can contain the splatter a bit better with its high sides. Even then, you'll probably have some splatters and spurts, so it's best to not wear a lot of billowy clothing. (Grandma always had her chicken-frying apron for a reason.)

Also, never drop chicken into the oil with your hands. Instead, use tongs or a wide, slotted spoon to gently lower the chicken into the hot oil. This way, you reduce the risk of splashing yourself with the oil.

How To Store Leftover Nashville Hot Chicken

If you have a few pieces leftover, don't let them to go to waste. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.

To restore the chicken to its full, crunchy glory, heat the pieces you plan to eat in an air fryer or oven on 350°F until warmed through.

Editorial contributions by Kimberly Holland.