NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN (SPICY FRIED CHICKEN)

Juicy, crispy, Nashville Hot Chicken (customizable spicy fried chicken) is the only fried chicken recipe you will ever need!  Leave off the Nashville Hot Sauce for flavor bursting chicken or add more or less Sauce to customize how spicy you want it.  Either way, you won’t be able to resist this electrifying easier-than-you-think fried chicken!

My little brother just got married this past weekend!  It was a magical summer day full of love, laughter and pure joy.  I have a special bond with my little brother (I used to call him my little “chunk of joy” now he’s the tall “hunk of joy”).  He is seven years younger than me with no siblings in between (with four siblings older than us).    He called me frequently while dating his now wife to gush about her kindness and talents and to ask me for advice.  I finally met her over Memorial Day Weekend where we feasted on spicy fried chicken AKA my version of Nashville Hot Chicken accompanied by the best everSlow Cooker Mashed Potatoes – two all American favs perfect for then Memorial Day and now 4th of July!

They loved the fried chicken almost as much as they love each other.  Okay, that’s a stretch.  But they were ooohing and awwwing until every juicy morsel caked in crunchy spicy crisped crust was devoured.  And now you, and all of your friends and family can fall in love with this Southern indulgence slathered in a tangy cayenne paste this upcoming 4^th of July because, after all,  what is more American than Fried Chicken?  You would just be doing your patriotic duty by consuming 3, 4, 5 pieces….

But what exactly is Nashville Hot Chicken?  You might recognize the name Hot Chicken from everywhere from KFC to trendy restaurants, to “must-try” Southern foods in countless magazines and websites but this newly nationwide popular chicken has been popular in Nashville for decades.   My custom recipe along with hot chicken joints all over Nashville, all trace back to the original Prince’s Hot Chicken, who by all accounts, is where hot chicken was born over 70 years ago.  Today, people still line up in long lines before Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack opens its doors to get their spicy fried chicken fix.

The main component that transforms fried chicken into iconic Nashville Hot Chicken, is slathering it in a cayenne paste that’s primarily a mixture of McCormick® Ground Red Cayenne Pepper and frying oil.   But don’t worry, if you are concerned about this chicken being too spicy for your family and friends – the heat level is completely customizable.  You can leave out the Nashville Hot Sauce and sink your teeth into mega flavorful chicken, or you can brush your chicken with a little Nashville Hot Sauce for a mild explosion of heat or brush the Sauce on heavy for an aggressive dose of heat that will leave your lips tingling for Nashville Hot Chicken like it’s really made in Nashville.

Any way you like it, this hot chicken that’s getting its 15 minutes of fame nationwide will make you famous neighborhood wide as your friends and family clamor for the juiciest, crispiest Nashville Hot Chicken.

Just as Nashville Hot Chicken is becoming popular outside Nashville, there are many delicious regional food traditions that are becoming popular outside their region of origin – all for delicious reasons!   For more swoon worthy regional chicken recipes, like Grilled Chicken Po Boy with Spicy Creole Mustard Sauce,  And then go eat Nashville Hot Chicken.  And fall in love…