Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning

As spicy as its back story, our Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning delivers a ton of heat, dappled with a bit of garlicky pungency and little pops of sweetness. The aroma from this blend rises like heat waves off a sidewalk, layered with hints of paprika’s comforting depth and black pepper’s rich pine. The taste is fully cayenne-forward at first—uncomplicated, clean, and hot. Then moments of sweet relief arrive with the caramel undertones of demerara sugar. Bold garlic and ground mustard assert themselves, adding grounded earthiness and a bit more warmth. The heat moves aside just a touch to give entry to paprika’s steadying influence, finishing with a mosaic of flavor and heat that have formed into a bristly whole. Our Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning is blended in small batches in our facility to ensure freshness and flavor in our products.

Nashville hot chicken got its start in the 1930's when Thornton Prince, a handsome Nashville man, got home at the wrong 5 o’clock. His wife believed that her husband had been canoodling with another woman—from what we know, she was probably right—and wanted to teach him a lesson. That Sunday she made him his favorite fried chicken for breakfast, but tried to make it inedible by loading it with whatever hot spices she had in her kitchen cabinets. Prince was initially shocked by the heat, but liked the chicken so much he called his brothers to come over and try some. The wife left, the chicken stayed, and the brothers opened a restaurant called the Barbecue Chicken Shack, that advertised hot-and-spicy chicken as its signature dish. In the 1980's ownership of the restaurant was passed down from uncle to niece and the restaurant's name was changed to Prince's Hot Chicken, which it is still called today. For decades hot chicken was more likely to be found only in the predominantly African American areas of Nashville, but in the last 15 or so years it has crossed racial and cultural boundaries and taken a more prominent role in the city’s culinary landscape. It can now be found in restaurants all over Nashville and on menus across the country.

Tips From Our Kitchen

Use 1 tablespoon of Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning per pound of meat. While the initial assumption is that this would be used on chicken, it would also be delicious as a rub on smoked turkey, or tossed over shrimp and grilled. Grind into meat for spicy homemade sausage. Make a marinade with lemon and garlic for spicy grilled fish; choose a firm-fleshed fish like cod or halibut to marinate. Grill some pineapple with this seasoning blend for a garnish. Or use as a dry rub on flaky white fish like snapper and bake. Make a quick cucumber pickle with cider vinegar and Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning; drain and serve with a fresh herb and yogurt dressing. Or spice up some yogurt and drizzle over salads. Mix into egg salad and add extra kick to deviled eggs.

Our Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning contains cayenne, sea salt, demerara sugar, yellow mustard, garlic, black pepper and paprika.

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