The dish to eat in Nashville · United States
Hot chicken
Photo: Sean Russell, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source
Fried chicken brushed with cayenne-spiked lard or oil, served on white bread with dill pickles.
Hot chicken started as a joke in one family and became the city's dish. Order it medium the first time: in Nashville, medium is already hot.
Where to eat it: the best three in Nashville
Prince's Hot Chicken Shack
Nolensville PikeOrder: Hot chicken, medium, on white bread with pickles
The family credited with inventing hot chicken; the main shop since the Ewing Drive original closed.
Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish
East NashvilleOrder: Hot chicken, and a hot whiting sandwich on the side
A dry-spiced, very hot style that many locals call the most old-school.
Hattie B's Hot Chicken
MidtownOrder: Two pieces medium with pimento mac and cheese
The easy first stop, with several shops and a menu of sides.
All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best hot chicken in Nashville, which you can save and take with you.
Cook it at home: Nashville hot chicken at home
Dark meat stays juicy through two fryings of heat: the crust and the hot oil brushed on at the end. Use the fryer oil for the paste, so the cayenne blooms in hot fat.
Pans and tools
- Heavy pot or Dutch oven
- Deep-fry thermometer
- Wire rack and sheet pan
- Pastry brush
You’ll need
- 8 bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks (about 3 lb / 1.4 kg)
- 2 cups (480 ml) buttermilk
- 2 tbsp dill pickle brine
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tsp kosher salt for the brine, plus 2 tsp for the flour
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Neutral oil or lard for frying, about 2 qt (2 l)
- For the hot paste: 3 to 5 tbsp cayenne (3 for medium, 5 for hot)
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot frying oil, ladled from the pot
- To serve: 8 slices soft white bread and a handful of dill pickle chips
Steps
- Stir the buttermilk, pickle brine, hot sauce and 2 tsp salt in a bowl. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate 4 to 12 hours.
- Whisk the flour, 2 tsp salt, pepper and garlic powder in a wide dish. Lift each piece from the buttermilk, let it drip, and press it into the flour on all sides. Dip it back in the buttermilk and into the flour again for a craggy crust. Rest on a rack 15 minutes.
- Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 325F (163C). Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time, turning now and then, 12 to 15 minutes, until deep brown and 175F (79C) inside the thickest piece. Drain on a rack set over a sheet pan.
- Whisk the cayenne, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder and salt in a heatproof bowl. Carefully ladle in 1/2 cup of the hot frying oil and stir to a loose red paste.
- Brush the paste over every piece while the chicken is still hot, on all sides.
- Lay each piece on a slice of white bread, top with pickle chips, and serve at once. The bread soaks up the red oil and is part of the dish.
Medium in Nashville is hot. Start with 3 tbsp cayenne and add more next time.
Keep the oil between 300 and 325F; if it runs hotter the crust burns before the bone is cooked.
Wear gloves if you brush with your hands, and keep your eyes clear of the cayenne steam.
Contains: ['gluten', 'dairy'].
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The dish in every cityWhere to eat in NashvillePicked October 2026 from what locals, food writers and the city’s own guides agree on. Places change; confirm hours before you go.
Chef Amazing · Will Travel for Food · Nashville · The dish in every city