Nashville hot chicken has transcended Nashville. It can be found on menus across the South and has genuinely become a southern hallmark. Nashville hot chicken is traditionally marinated, dredged in seasoned flour, and fried on the stovetop, producing hot, crispy fried chicken that is dipped or brushed in a spicy oil blend. The oil blend comprises ingredients such as cayenne pepper, paprika, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. The dish is very spicy and savory with a hint of sweetness from the brown sugar. The dish is served hot, accompanied by pickles.
The legend of Nashville hot chicken dates to the 1930s. As the story goes, Thornton Prince, a tall, handsome Black man, known to be a “ladies’ man,” had a steady girlfriend but he was stepping out on her. He stayed out all night and came back home in time for breakfast. His girlfriend got tired of his cheating ways and wanted revenge. So, she decided to prepare his favorite meal for breakfast, fried chicken. This was no ordinary fried chicken; she used an enormous amount of cayenne to prepare the chicken and served it to an unsuspecting Prince. He loved the hot chicken so much that he shared some of it with his brothers.
An undated photo of Thornton Prince who is considered the father of Nashville hot chicken.
Courtesy of Kim Prince/Prince Family.
The Prince brothers loved the chicken, perfected the recipe, and started the BBQ Chicken Shack. Little is known about the girlfriend who made the chicken, and she was not involved in the Prince brothers’ new venture. In 1980, Thornton Prince’s great-niece, Andre Prince Jefferies, took over the business and remains at the helm. She renamed the restaurant Prince’s Hot Chicken. The restaurant was the first to serve Nashville hot chicken, helping to popularize the dish as locals fell in love with it.
Nashville hot chicken from Prince’s Hot Chicken in Nashville, Tennessee in 2019.
Courtesy of Thomas Hawk. CC NY-NC 2.0.
An undated photo of Andre Prince, the founder of Prince’s Hot Chicken.
Courtesy of Prince’s Hot Chicken.
Nashville hot chicken was originally called hot chicken. Still, as the dish gained popularity nationwide, Nashville was added to the name. The true craze for the dish dates to the first Hot Chicken Festival in 2007. The festival started as a way to celebrate the city’s bicentennial, and it introduced hot chicken to new and different audiences. Hot chicken restaurants began to emerge throughout Nashville, and the dish’s popularity spread nationwide. Nashville hot chicken can be found in a range of places, like Hot Chickz Hot Chicken in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Burnin‘ Mouth Nashville Hot Chicken in Meridian, Idaho.
Bolton Polk was the cook for the BBQ Chicken Shack. After a fall out with the Prince family, Polk started his own hot chicken place in the late 1970s called Columbo’s Chicken Shack. Columbo’s was Prince’s first real competition. Today it is known as Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish owned by Polk’s descendants.
Courtesy of Amy C. Evans. CC BY 2.0.
Since 2007, the popularity of Nashville hot chicken has steadily increased. Food trend experts attribute its rise in popularity to a combination of two reasons: one, millennials seeking an exciting take on a tried-and-true classic. Secondly, restaurants needed a way to bounce back and create buzz following the Great Recession in 2008. Data from Technomic, a food research and consulting firm, revealed that Nashville hot chicken experienced a surge at the onset of the pandemic, reaching its peak by the end of 2022.
KFC’s Nashville Hot Chicken was sold at all 4,300 stores, speaking to the trendiness and popularity of the dish.
Courtesy of KFC and CNN.
For those who love Nashville hot chicken and want to try making it at home, numerous online recipes are available. Chef John of the popular YouTube channel Food Wishes released his recipe for Nashville hot chicken on allrecipes.com.
