The Origin Of Nashville Hot Chicken Began With A Scandalous Mistake
Nashville, Tennessee may be known as "Music City," but for foodies with a preference for flaming flavor, the Southern capital's real claim to fame is being the birthplace of — what else? — Nashville hot chicken. We're pretty sure even TN-native Dolly Parton would agree.
The regional delicacy consists of a marinated, breaded, and fried chicken breast coated in a blend of intense spices, including a generous amount of cayenne pepper until it achieves its signature lava-red glow. It's typically served on white bread or between a bun (a must for soaking up the juices and relieving one's burning taste buds) and topped with a couple of dill pickle rounds. A side of cornbread, collard greens, or coleslaw is optional but highly recommended.
On any given day in Nashville, you'll find tourists and locals lining up out the door for an order from some of the city's most famous purveyors. Hattie B's and Bolton's are two popular spots, but there's no beating the birthplace of the dish: Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. Local legend has it that the sandwich began nearly 90 years ago and was conceived as a way for a scorned woman to get revenge against her philandering boyfriend. But rather than burn his taste buds as punishment, the ploy ignited a culinary phenomenon.
A cheating lover led to the famous recipe
Prince's Hot Chicken has been a family-owned and operated business since it was opened in 1945. These days it's run by André Prince Jeffries, the great-niece of its founder, Thornton Prince III. According to lore, partly propagated by Prince Jeffries herself, her great-uncle was quite the ladies' man in the 1930s. He had a reputation for gallivanting around East Nashville with a coterie of lovers, and while he struggled to stay faithful to one woman, he was dedicated to his favorite meal of fried chicken.
After getting home late one night following a romp-about-town, Prince asked his girlfriend to cook up his favorite dish. Angered by his scandalous shenanigans, she decided to get revenge by dousing the food in cayenne pepper and a slew of punishing spices. Unfortunately for her — and fortunately for us — Prince enjoyed the punishment. He began sharing the kicked-up recipe with family and friends in the African-American community and later the wider Nashville population. The angry accident eventually led to Prince opening up his own hot chicken shack to start selling it to fellow masochists. And the rest, as they say, is Nashville history.