Hot Chicken - What the Heck is It?

by Hanna Raskin, Posted May 26th 2009 @ 11:00AM

True to cliché, countless failed country stars stream out of Nashville with their money spent, spirits broken and nothing but a nasty hot chicken habit to show for their Music City sojourn. It's an addiction many twangsters say they just can't kick.

"Lorrie Morgan turned me onto it," recalls Rocky Lindsley, a former back-up drummer for country music stars including the popular blonde singer. "I was paying a guy money to bring me that chicken [from six hours away]."

Veterans of the Nashville scene are partially responsible for a burgeoning hot chicken diaspora, introducing the city's fiery, tastebud-melting dish to brave eaters across the South. Lindsley, who now owns Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack in Asheville (east of Nashville), doesn't hesitate when asked to name his influence: "As a musician, I'm going to say who inspired me, whether it's Led Zeppelin or whatever, and I was inspired by Prince's."

Learn the bizarre side effects of hot chicken consumption after the jump.

Indeed, Prince's Hot Chicken Shack is universally recognized as the progenitor of hot chicken, a dastardly pepper-rubbed, skillet-fried chicken that makes a mockery of every Buffalo wing that's ever crossed your lips. The "medium" chicken makes customers sweat through their socks, while owner Andre Prince Jeffries reports the "hot" chicken has caused folks to tear through the restaurant in pain or, bizarrely, to scurry out to the parking lot for impromptu, cayenne-fueled trysts.

Hot Chicken Syndrome has now spread across the South and as far north as Michigan, where Ari Weinzweig has put the dish on the Zingerman's Roadhouse menu. The knock-offs have apparently nailed the addictive qualities of the original, and folks are getting hooked.

"I had this couple come in here three times yesterday, which freaked me out," Lindsley reports. "They kept asking me, 'What are you putting in this chicken?'"

Hot chicken is on the march: Has it hit your 'hood yet?

Filed Under: Trends
Tags: hot chicken, HotChicken, nashville, tennessee, trend

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-26-2009 @3:00PM Steven Chappell said... The best hot chicken in Middle Tennessee is at The Chicken Shack. You can read my review here: http://eatingmurfreesboro.wordpress.com
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5-26-2009 @5:38PM jon arnold said... Nashville's best blog just linked to this post and a writeup I made on Prince's a few weeks back. I fully believe Prince's is one of the greatest restaurants in Nashville. Check it out!

http://nashvillest.com/2009/05/26/princes-gettin-famous-hot-chicken-spreading-like-wildfire/
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5-31-2009 @8:03PM Erin said... YUM! Don't miss the Hot Chicken Festival if you're gonna be in town on the 4th. We were smart enough to get there about a half hour or so early, and the line was already forming for the free hot chicken! Here's my blog post about last year's event.
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5-31-2009 @11:41PM thehungrytraveler said... I've written about Prince's on the Hungry Traveler!

http://havestomachwilltravel.com/2009/05/30/princes-hot-chicken-nashvilletn/
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6-01-2009 @10:01AM Richard said... Sorry, but I am from the south, and still live here, and have never heard of 'hot chicken'. While I like your article, I still am not sure that I know what it is.

What exactly is 'hot chicken'?

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6-01-2009 @12:43PM Hanna Raskin said... Glad you enjoyed the story, Richard. And I'm very much hoping you have the chance to try hot chicken soon.

Hot chicken is really just a supercharged variation of fried chicken, coated with a peppery paste. It's served on a grease-soaked slice of white bread and crowned with a pickle chip.

While hot chicken cooks guard their recipes with a fervor usually reserved for crown jewels and college football playbooks, the Nashville Scene last year cajoled the winner of the Music City Hot Chicken Festival cook-off into revealing his secret: Lard, cayenne, sugar, salt and garlic powder, spread onto already-fried chicken. If you're tempted to try it in your home kitchen, don't forget the latex gloves: http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/bites/2008/07/bites_exclusive_winning_hot_ch.php
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6-01-2009 @6:56PM Gobo said... Richard, I'd suggest either clicking the links in the article or typing "hot chicken" into this new thing called Google that people use to find things on the Internet.
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