The Flavor Difference Between Buffalo And Nashville Hot Chicken
If you're feeling like chowing down on some spicy fried chicken, Buffalo and Nashville hot chicken are two of the most popular versions you'll find in the U.S. But while they might both have some crunch and kick to them, there's some substantial difference between the two in terms of ingredients and flavor, as well as the way they're prepared.
Let's start with Buffalo chicken — or to be precise, Buffalo wings, since it's a recipe that's typically made with chicken wings as a bar snack (although in theory, there's no reason the same recipe can't be applied to other pieces of chicken). Here, chicken wings are deep-fried and then doused in a pretty simple vinegar-based hot sauce made with cayenne pepper, like Frank's Red Hot or Crystal hot sauces, mixed with some butter. Some recipes go a bit further and add extras like garlic or Worcestershire sauce, but these generally are added extras that aren't standard across all versions of Buffalo wings.
Nashville hot chicken also uses cayenne, but has more ingredients overall: It's first marinated in a mix of buttermilk, pickle brine, and a similarly vinegary hot sauce. The chicken's breading may also contain black and cayenne peppers, and when it's done, a final glaze-like sauce adds more cayenne but branches out beyond Buffalo chicken to include paprika, black pepper, onion, garlic, and notably, brown sugar for a sweet kick. This makes for a more rounded set of flavors compared to the pure cayenne kick of Buffalo sauce.
The preparation and service differences to know
Although it's the spices and hot sauces that make up the biggest taste differences between these two types of chicken, it's worth knowing other differences in the way they're prepared and served. As mentioned, Buffalo wings are, well, wings, and they're often snapped in half before cooking, so eating them is more like getting meat off a drumstick. Meanwhile, Nashville hot chicken can use all parts of the bird, particularly breasts and thighs. While both are deep-fried, Buffalo wings go straight in the fryer without breading; Nashville hot chicken is fully dredging and breaded, and more flavor can be injected by adding seasonings to the flour mix you dip the chicken in.
Both chicken types are served differently, too: Buffalo wings are more of a bar snack, so they'll typically come with just a couple of accouterments on the side. Buffalo wings are served with celery and a blue cheese sauce for dipping, which both help cut the heat and acidity of the Buffalo sauce. Quite differently, Nashville hot chicken is served with bread and pickles (some call it a sandwich, some don't). If you're looking for a main meal, Nashville is probably a better bet, thanks to the larger chicken pieces used. If you're trying to choose based on flavor profile, Nashville hot chicken tends to be spicier (Buffalo chicken has more of an acidic tang to it), but be warned that because there are a lot of different recipes out there, both types can vary in terms of heat.
They have different backgrounds, too
Although they have some similarities in taste (especially with that cayenne), Buffalo wings and Nashville hot chicken have pretty different histories. If you didn't already guess from the names, Buffalo wings hail from Buffalo, New York; and Nashville hot chicken is (surprise!) from its namesake Tennessee city. Buffalo wings are a newer creation: The exact origin of Buffalo wings is debated, but it's generally agreed that they were created in the 1960s, either by a Buffalo bar owner as a snack (with the recipe partly based on whatever she had on hand), or a restaurateur who based the sauce off a Chicago recipe called Mumbo sauce.
There's less ambiguity around the origin of Nashville hot chicken: Credit typically goes to a man named Thornton Prince in the 1930s. His girlfriend believed he had cheated, and tried to punish him with an ultra-spicy serving of fried chicken — but he loved it, honed the recipe, and opened a restaurant that's still around today under the name Prince's Hot Chicken. While it's been around longer as a staple of Nashville's food scene, hot chicken only became nationally popular in the last couple of decades as chains like KFC added it to menus; Buffalo wings hit the big-time back in the '80s.