
How Hot Chicken Happened - jger15
https://bittersoutherner.com/how-hot-chicken-really-happened
======
auiya
These are all cute folk-lore tales, but nothing more. Humans have used chili
peppers and other hot spices for thousands of years on all manners of food,
and commercially bottling hot sauce (in the US at least) since the early
1800s. To try and pretend putting hot sauce or dried pepper spices on fried
chicken is something that originated in the post-war south is utter nonsense.

~~~
mywittyname
It's the modern marketing machine at work. The heartwarming story and mythos
are an important component for manufacturing that authenticity and uniqueness.
It even encourages gaslighting by people in the region who pretend to have
"grown up on the stuff" when they really only found about about it five years
ago.

Also, to anyone who loves hot chicken, next time you're at your favorite
Chinese place, ask for Mala chicken, you won't' be disappointed.

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samcheng
Here's a solid New Yorker article on Hot Chicken:

[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/04/the-family-
bus...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/04/the-family-business-
that-put-nashville-hot-chicken-on-the-map)

Apparently Prince's chicken started as a prank!

I'm happy that it's continuing to grow in popularity, myself.

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2819b
For those on the West Coast, Hattie B's recently opened in Las Vegas at the
Cosmo.

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zachgersh
For those on the West Coast, well LA, we actually have access to incredible
hot chicken in Howlin' Rays. The chicken definitely stays true to the
Nashville original and they have the lines to prove it (peak is like 3 hours).

~~~
rocketpastsix
To give Howlin Ray's some credit, they did a pop-up night here in Nashville
with 400 Degrees (one of the highest regarded places) and it was incredibly
packed and successful. Next time I'm in LA, I will be at Howlin Rays!

~~~
messick
Not sure if things have calmed down in the last year, but get ready for 2-3
hour lines.

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nodesocket
Been in Nashville for about a year and half. Prince's Chicken is the best I've
had, but of course Hattie B's is the most popular. Pro-tip if you in Nashville
and don't want to wait in the huge lines at Hattie B's, it is rumored that
Party Fowl was founded by somebody who used to work there and stole the
recipe. Go to Party Fowl no lines.

~~~
cosmie
+1 on the Prince's recommendation.

But does Hattie B's usually have huge lines now? I haven't gone very often in
the last year or so, but I can't really recall ever standing in the ordering
line longer than a few minutes.

~~~
dreamcompiler
I went to Hattie B's around 6 pm on a Wednesday last month and only waited
about 15 minutes.

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tracker1
For those that know... how is this difference more/less than the spicy/hot
chicken from Church's (aka Texas outside US) or Popeye's Chicken?

~~~
wil421
Those places and even Bojangles tend to have spices in the batter that might
give a slight red/pink color to the skin.

If you get the HOT Nashville Chicken, and I mean the hottest one hot they
serve, it will be dripping red, almost smothered in red hot sauce and cayenne
powder. I’ve been to Prince’s, Hattie B’s and Bolton’s. Bolton’s was crazy
spicy and left the stomach in a state of fury for a few days.

Marinate chicken pieces in equal parts butter milk and a Louisiana hot sauce
(cayenne based) overnight to get a really tender and juicy fried chicken.

~~~
sciurus
Don't make the mistake of thinking pouring a standard hot sauce on fried
chicken == nashville hot chicken, though. This is what a lot of restaurants
that don't specialize in hot chicken have done to jump on the craze, and it's
not at all the same. Those sauces will have a lot of vinegar which affects
both the flavor and texture negatively. Nashville hot chicken traditionally is
coated in a mixture of lard (or oil) and cayenne.

~~~
wil421
I had more in my last paragraph but removed it so I wouldn’t confuse anyone.
I’ll just give the marinade I like the most, that one and the one where you
just use pickle juice overnight.

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syntaki
For those in Tokyo, Soul Food House in Azabujuban has some very good Hot
Chicken and delivers through Uber Eats.

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pjc50
This sounds a lot like Nandos.

(Also, the article is 90% about the racialisation of urban planning in
Nashville and the author's surprise at discovering that different communities
eat different foods.)

~~~
kkarakk
> author's surprise at discovering that different communities eat different
> foods.

i think it's more that in a well researched and sourced article you can't just
start from the generalisation "well it's well known that minorities like
spices" as that assumes an us(the reader-part of the mainstream) vs them(the
quirky minority) mentality

~~~
nashvillecactus
Never mind that the "secret" was out a long time before 2005, when the author
left for grad school. There was even an Insomniac episode from 2003 that
featured Prince's. I think the fact that nobody in her family had heard of hot
chicken speaks more to her and her family than of the general population
(white or otherwise) of Nashville.

~~~
kkarakk
Well the article is on the internet and has a global audience(esp when
amplified by aggregators like hackernews). i personally didn't know the
origins of hot chicken(my first interaction with it was KFC)

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bluedino
It's popular enough that KFC is cashing in on the trend

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perfmode
Personally, I put Bolton’s above all. :)

~~~
sciurus
It's too dry!

I do miss living in walking distance of both Bolton's and Pepperfire.

cwage's ranking at [https://quietlife.net/2015/07/27/the-best-hot-chicken-in-
nas...](https://quietlife.net/2015/07/27/the-best-hot-chicken-in-nashville/)
is older but still pretty good.

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craigds
So it's just chicken with hot sauce?

~~~
yareally
Fried chicken + cayenne pepper + buttermilk + brown sugar + some other spices.
It's not buffalo wings nor does it taste like them if that's what you're
wondering. It's closer to a spicy chicken sandwich at Wendy's or Chick Fil A,
but a bit more sweet/spicy than just spicy. I've made the following recipe at
home and it's fairly close (I would cut down the 6 tablespoons of cayenne to
2-3 and try it before adding more):

[https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/nashville-
styl...](https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/nashville-style-hot-
chicken-51236260)

~~~
auiya
Sounds like buffalo wings, only subbing sugar for vinegar.

