Legend has it that Thornton Prince was quite the ladies’ man. After he stepped out once too often on his long-suffering girlfriend, she sought to punish him by dousing his fried-chicken breakfast with fiery cayenne. To her chagrin, Prince loved the concoction so much that he dedicated a restaurant to it in his southside Nashville, Tenn., neighborhood. The Nashville hot trend took root here, and the rest is culinary history.

In 2016, nearly 80 years after the restaurant first opened, the James Beard Foundation acknowledged the flavor’s timeless appeal by awarding Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack the America’s Classic Award. The current menu—available in locations across Tennessee and South Carolina—hews closely to the original and remains limited to signature fried chicken meals, typically served with white bread, pickles and classic sides like baked beans and coleslaw. The only nods to contemporary tastes are chicken salad and the André Chicken Sandwich, named for Ms. André Prince Jeffries, the founder’s great niece and current head of the organization.

The unassuming simplicity of the menu, however, belies an influence that extends far beyond its hometown.

SPICE UP THE MORNING

Credit: Vicious Biscuit

Vicious Biscuit doubles down on the heat, serving Nashville hot chicken on a cheddar-jalapeño biscuit for an extra kick.

Heat seekers can start their day with a flavor punch at fast-casual chain Effin Egg, where the Nashville Hot Chicken Burrito is stuffed with cage-free scrambled eggs, fried chicken, tater tots and queso, all tossed in Nashville hot sauce. By contrast, the Nashville Hot Breakfast Burrito at Wilde in Denver starts with hot sous-vide chicken, along with scrambled eggs, fries, chipotle crema and a side of housemade chips.

Biscuit makers are firmly on board the trend. Hardee’s dishes up “all the heat you can handle” with the Nashville Hot Chicken Biscuit on a signature made-from-scratch biscuit. Emerging competitor Vicious Biscuit puts its version on a cheddar-jalapeño biscuit garnished with honey mustard and thick-cut pickle chips.

Based in the heartland, Big Biscuit applies the Nashville hot flavor system to chicken biscuits and chicken and waffles; the latter is presented along with pickles and a drizzle of honey on a Belgian waffle that can hold up under the rich ingredients. At Yard House, Nashville Hot Chicken & Pancakes put the chicken atop sweet potato pancakes with pickles, ranch dressing and hot honey sauce.

SNACKS AND APPS PACKING HEAT

Nashville hot’s inherent craveability makes it a go-to for operators looking to add a little pizzazz to their menus, and chicken is frequently the beneficiary. It has spiced things up through LTOs at Jack in the Box, where Nashville Hot Popcorn Chicken was accompanied by signature buttermilk-ranch dipping sauce, and at Cracker Barrel, where Crispy Tender Dippers came with a new Nashville hot sauce on the side. In addition to menu specials, Cowboy Chicken also launched a virtual brand dedicated to the flavor.

Its assertive heat level makes it a natural pairing with cheese, as the fat in dairy can offset the burn factor. This winter, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom included Nashville Hot-Zarella Sticks in a promotional line of Nashville Hot items, while Jack in the Box offered its own Nashville Hot Mozzarella Sticks with marinara sauce.

Hands down, the hottest cheese sticks in the business, however, come courtesy of last year’s “cheese-pull” craze, in which TikTokers filmed themselves eating Chili’s Fried Mozzarella appetizer, which had been reformulated from a stick to a more substantial cheese plank. The irresistible, ooey-gooey pull was a viral sensation that racked up 200 million views and ultimately led Chili’s to introduce Nashville Hot Mozz, a permanent line extension that is tossed in the title hot sauce and served with housemade ranch dressing.

HOT NEW FORMATS

Credit: Dog Haus

Nashville hot appears as a dry dust instead of a thick sauce in Dog Haus’ Hot-N-Ranchy Corn Dog LTO, which is also flavored with miso ranch and chipotle aïoli.

Nashville hot perks up the basics, too, as at Smack Shack, a casual, coastal lobster specialist in Minneapolis, where the Nashville Hot Fish Sandwich starts with tempura cod, then adds remoulade, hot sauce, slaw and pickles. Dog Haus kicked off this year with a January special Hot-N-Ranchy Corn Dog that boasted a beef hot dog split and dipped in root beer batter, dusted with Nashville hot spice and topped with relish, miso ranch and chipotle aïoli. Part of the brand’s many ongoing menu collaborations, this one was developed in partnership with social media personality Josh Elkin.

Old Chicago’s winter promotion featured Music City Hot Mac, in which cavatappi pasta in beer cheese sauce was crowned with Nashville hot chicken, bacon and breadcrumbs. And in January, KFC introduced a lineup of $5 bowls that included a trio of Nashville Hots: Famous Bowl, Loaded Fries Bowl and Mac & Cheese Bowl.

MENU MASH-UPS

The flavor has also been turning up in other nontraditional applications that benefit from its flavor boost. Once again, Old Chicago tapped into the heat with its promotional Nashville Hot Crispy Chicken Pizza, topped with pickles, scallions, ranch and hot honey sauces. And across Rock Bottom Brewery locations, Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza is a permanent fixture on the menu and features extra kick via sweet Thai chiles.

Just as pizza crust is a reliable flavor carrier, the taco shell has also become a dependable starting point for flavor innovation. In March, Velvet Taco served a special Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffle Taco, featuring a waffle tortilla with chicken, peppercorn gravy, green apple slaw and a flourish of maple syrup. Luna’s Tacos & Tequila in Greeley, Colo., adds a finishing dollop of adobo aïoli to its Nashville Hot Chicken Taco.

OUTLOOK AND OPPORTUNITY

Nashville hot is a classic case of the right product in the right place at the right time. Its bold, heat-forward profile appeals to a growing body of spice cravers, but equally important is its image as an American original. Along with its culinary cousins Cajun and Buffalo, Nashville hot has grown far beyond its point of origin to attain icon status and impact menu R&D, regardless of cuisine, service format or daypart.

Looking ahead, watch for applications across a broader range of proteins, as with Captain D’s promotional Nashville Hot Fish made with Southern-style white fish fillet. And expect more action early in the day, as brunch and café operators in the escalating biscuit wars deploy Nashville hot as a customer draw.