If you can’t visit Nashville in person, you can get a little taste of it at home by making the city’s signature hot sauce.
As a huge fan of spicy foods, I find that too many folks assume that all hot sauces are the same. But that is certainly not the case at all. Hot sauce has different varieties, sometimes based on regional preferences, with Nashville hot sauce being a great example. Some people may recognize Nashville hot sauce because KFC tried to replicate it for an item on its menu. However, that version doesn’t do justice to the real thing. My advice would be to follow this recipe if you want to get a true taste of the hot sauce they put on their chicken in Nashville.
One of the biggest differences between true Nashville hot sauce and what you might find at KFC or other types of spicy sauce, like Buffalo sauce, is the consistency. Nashville hot sauce is less of a sauce and more of a spicy oil or paste. It has a thick and grainy texture that lets you know you’re cooking with genuine Nashville hot sauce. The taste is also a little more layered and sophisticated than other types of hot sauce. The kick of the cayenne pepper is balanced by the sweetness of the brown sugar and honey. The use of garlic powder and smoked paprika adds extra depth to the sauce, so it’s not all about the spice. That complexity is what makes Nashville hot sauce special.
Is Nashville Hot Sauce Healthy?
Since making Nashville hot sauce begins with melting butter, it’s hard to view this as a healthy condiment. The recipe calls specifically for clarified butter, which has about 14 grams of fat per tablespoon. With half a cup of clarified butter in this recipe, this isn’t something you should make if you’re trying to limit your fat intake. With both brown sugar and honey, the sugar content in this sauce could be a little high for some diets as well. Luckily, you don’t need to use a huge amount of this sauce in your cooking, so just make sure to enjoy it in moderation.
How To Adjust The Spiciness Of Nashville Sauce
While Nashville hot sauce is made from a specific set of ingredients, you can always tweak things to your preferred level of spiciness. The easiest way to do this is by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper you add. Increasing the cayenne, even a little, will give the sauce even more of a kick. Reducing the cayenne somewhat will give the sauce a little less heat. Another tactic is to add a little more brown sugar or honey, making the sauce a little sweeter to balance out the heat of the cayenne. You may also want to experiment with different types of paprika—smoked, hot, or sweet—to adjust the flavor of the sauce ever so slightly. One final tweak to consider is adding a splash of lemon or lime juice. This also helps to balance out the spice of the sauce while also giving it a citrus zing.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Any Nashville hot sauce that isn’t used right away can be stored in an airtight container or sealed jar. Keep the container or jar in the fridge for 7-10 days.
Serving Suggestions
Nashville hot sauce is traditionally served on fried chicken. But you can use it with just about any chicken dish you make. I tend to use it for simple recipes like Crispy Breaded Chicken or Air-Fryer Chicken Tenders. You might also use it as the sauce on Chicken Wings or Crispy Air-Fryer Chicken Wings. Of course, you don’t have to use Nashville hot sauce exclusively on chicken. Think outside the box a little by drizzling the sauce onto Air-Fryer Shrimp or using it as a dipping sauce for Healthy Turkey Meatballs. In short, treat Nashville hot sauce the way you would any other condiment.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup clarified butter
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey optional
Instructions
- Place clarified butter in a medium saucepan and heat it over medium-low heat until liquidy and warm.
- Mix cayenne pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper into the clarified butter. Whisk to combine.
- Allow the mixture to cook on low heat for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to help the spices meld. If desired, adjust spiciness by adding more cayenne.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in honey (if using) and let the sauce sit for a minute before serving. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition information are estimates only and may vary based on the specific brands, ingredients, and portion sizes you use. This data is provided for informational purposes only.
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