Nashville Hot Grilled Chicken

It was one of Tennessee’s best-kept secrets, but the secret has been revealed, and Nashville Hot Chicken has taken the rest of the nation by storm.

Restaurants specialized to Hot Chicken are springing up everywhere, and prominent fast-food outlets are putting their own spin on the dish on the menu.

We’ve taken a spin on the Nashville Hot Chicken classic by utilizing the same fantastic spicy, sweet tastes but grilling the chicken instead of frying it.

I believe it is fair to assume that the Nashville Hot taste will be around for a long time.

Where did Nashville chicken originate from?

Many people claim that the original recipe belongs to Princes Hot Chicken Shack, a restaurant founded by James Thornton Prince in 1945 in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to legend, Prince was a bit of a party animal and a women man.

His stable girlfriend didn’t like his playboy tendencies, so she retaliated by serving an especially hot batch of fried chicken one morning.

She stuffed the chicken with more peppers and seasonings and served it. To her surprise, Prince not only enjoyed the hot chicken but also requested seconds!

It was then that Nashville Hot Chicken was born.

After perfecting the dish, Prince debuted his restaurant in 1945. In 1980, his great-niece Andr Prince Jeffries took over ownership, and the legendary restaurant is still serving the original hot chicken today.

Related If you prefer spicy chicken, try our spicy buffalo wings.

How to make Nashville hot grilled chicken

1.Prepare the chicken

The first step in making this Nashville spicy grilled chicken is to season it.

This recipe asks for chicken breasts, but you may substitute whatever sort of chicken you choose. Nashville Hot Wings, Nashville Hot Thighs, or Nashville Hot Drumsticks would also be delicious!

Four boneless, skinless chicken breasts were utilized. Each breast is thoroughly seasoned with salt, pepper, smoky paprika, and garlic powder.

When the chicken is well-seasoned, it is ready to grill.

2. Grill the chicken

I prefer to start by oiling the grill grates. While it is not always required, I prefer to coat the grates with a little oil to keep the chicken from sticking.

These chicken breasts were cooked on my Big Green Egg at 300°F over Acacia wood lump charcoal with a dusting of pecan chips.

Cook each breast for 10-12 minutes each side, or until an internal temperature of 165F is reached.

Overcooking chicken breasts, which are thinner and less forgiving than chicken thighs, is particularly critical. Use a decent meat thermometer, such as the Thermapen ONE.

3. Prepare the hot sauce

The sauce is the star of the show when it comes to Hot Chicken. It is responsible for the chicken’s trademark red color as well as the scorching hot taste that keeps customers coming back for more.

Nashville Hot sauce is distinct in that it is produced with cayenne pepper and contains no additional hot sauces, as opposed to the more famous Buffalo sauce, which normally contains a bottle of hot sauce blended with butter.

Nashville Hot Sauce is a straightforward concoction of butter (or oil), cayenne pepper, brown sugar, and spices.

Because traditional Nashville Hot Chicken is fried, a little amount of frying oil is usually poured over the butter before adding the spices.

I forego the oil in my Nashville Hot grilled version and instead use melted butter as a foundation. The simple mix of butter and spices yields a thin paste-like sauce that covers the grilled chicken wonderfully.

Begin with a stick of butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until the butter is completely melted, and then begin to add seasoning.

To begin, mix together the cayenne pepper and the butter. I’ve included some spice level suggestions below so you can customize the intensity of your sauce to your liking.

Spice level guidelines:

tbsp cayenne pepper, mild1 tbsp cayenne pepper, medium2 tablespoons cayenne pepper3 tablespoons cayenne pepper

Add the brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder after that. Once that mixture is well-combined, pour in the honey and stir again. The end product should be a sauce that is almost like a thin paste.

4. Time to sauce and serve

You may sprinkle the sauce over the top of the chicken or serve it on the side, but I like to dip the whole chicken breast into the delectable spicy sauce. This guarantees that every inch of chicken is thoroughly covered and infused with Nashville Hot taste.

To ensure that the chicken breast is covered with all of the sauce components, give it a fast stir just before dipping in your chicken to ensure that all of the tastes are blended, as the seasoning may have settled on the bottom of the bowl if it has been sitting for a long.

The options are infinite after your chicken has been dipped. It’s delicious on its own, but I prefer to serve it with pickles and a dollop of creamy coleslaw on a brioche bun for a flavor-packed hot chicken sandwich that will blow your mind.

Some other sides you might like to try with this chicken

Smoked Macaroni and CheeseSalad of Herb-Roasted PotatoesClassic French Fries Made From Scratch