DAILY NEWSNYDailyNews.com Sunday, March 29, 2020 49
Nashville-style hot chicken is
one of America’s most beloved
regional foods, and the version
se r v e d a t i t s b i r t h p l a c e ,
Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, is
one of the country ’s most
iconic dishes. How is it differ-
ent from other classic fried
chickens? Traditionally, it’s
made by being deep-fried and
then getting a little bath in an
oil-based marinade loaded
with fiery spices.
In honor of National Hot
Chicken Day on March 30, it’s
time to take a look at where
Nashville hot chicken came
from, and where it is now.
According to Prince’s Hot
Chicken’s website, founder
Thornton Prince was a ladies’
man. After scorning his girl-
friend during the Great De-
pression, she devised a re-
venge strategy. The following
morning, he awoke to the
smell of fried chicken and
didn’t realize until after taking
abite that it had been sprin-
kled with hot spices. “Much to
her dismay, Prince didn’t fall
over weeping in pain,” the
website explains. “Nope, he
asked for seconds, and, at that
moment, the legend was born.”
This spicy take on fried
chicken has made its way from
native Nashville all across the
country. Many chefs, including
in New York, put their own
spin on the traditional recipe.
It’s a popular menu item at
Peaches Hothouse in Brooklyn
where instead of being dunked
in oil post-fry, it’s tossed in a
spicy dry rub. “It’s a little bit
less greasy, it’s a little more
favorable to New Yorkers
rather than Southerners,”
chef/partner Damian Laverty-
McDowell told The Daily
Meal.
Peaches offers three differ-
ent heat levels, according toLaverty-McDowell. “Regular”
includes “just a little bit of cay-
enne,” “Hot” includes cayenne,
smoked ghost pepper and sug-
ar and “Extra Hot” ups the
ghost pepper content.
“[Extra hot is] more of a
challenge; it’s not really rec-
ommended,” he said.Peaches Hothouse is open
for take-out and delivery or, if
you want to give it a go at
home, here is a basic recipe for
hot chicken dry rub:Nashville-Style Fried
Chicken Dry Rub
4 tablespoons cayenne2 tablespoons white sugar
¼teaspoon smoked ghost
pepper powder
Stir to combine, and sprin-
kle over fried chicken as soon
as it comes out of the fryer. If
extra heat is desired, sparingly
in c r e a s e t h e a m o u n t o f
smoked ghost pepper.Nashville-style hot chicken can
be found on menus all over the
country, including at Peaches
Hothouse (below) in Brooklyn.JACQUI WEDEWER/THE DAILY MEALFEELIN’ HOT, HOT, HOT!
BY DAN MYERS
THE DAILY MEAL Nashville-style chicken’s spicy origin storyOoey, gooey macaroni and cheese can
be difficult to master at home. There are
aseemingly infinite number of mac and
cheese recipes out there, but one New
York City cheese shop is turning out a
version that’s some of the best any-
where, and there’s a reason why.
With a vast amount of cheeses at her
disposal, Alina Stallone, the kitchen
manager at Manhattan’s venerable
Murray’s Cheese, chose a fairly classic
lineup to add to her recipe: cheddar,
Fontina and Gouda, all shredded by
hand. She could have stopped there and
ended up with a spectacular mac and
cheese, but in order to make her recipe
super creamy, she takes it one step fur-
ther.
“A wonderful trick to make your macand cheese extra luxurious is adding
cubed Taleggio,” Stallone told The Daily
Meal. “Because when it bakes with the
pasta, it’s going to turn into little ooey-
gooey pockets of delicious cheese.”
Taleggio is a semisoft, washed-rind
Italian cheese that you can find at many
of America’s top supermarkets. Stallone
adds this cheese with the rind removed
to her mac and cheese mixture twice:
once while making the initial cheese
sauce and again after incorporating the
pasta into it.
If you thought mac and cheese
couldn’t get any more delicious than
what your grandma used to make, well,
apparently it can. Find the recipe from
Murray’s mac and cheese at thedaily-
JACQUI WEDEWER/THE DAILY MEAL meal.com. Dan MyersSay mac & cheese! N.Y. shop’s
recipe will make hearts melt