How To Balance The Spiciness Of A Hot Chicken Sandwich

One of the reasons chicken is so popular is its versatility — you can pair the lean protein with a huge range of sauces and seasonings, and one of the best ways to cook it is with a little spice. Nashville hot chicken has been around since the 1930s, with countless chefs and restaurants crafting their own take on the classic dish. And it's not hard to understand why. It's crispy, spicy, juicy, and absolutely packed with flavor.

When making your own, though, you might find yourself experimenting with spice blends and end up with chicken that's got a little too much heat. Luckily, there are several ways to balance the spice level in a hot chicken sandwich, and they all involve components that complement the taste of chicken. Better yet, you can customize them to fit the exact flavor profile you're going for.

One of the best ways to temper a spicy dish is with dairy, as the milk proteins pair up with the heat-producing capsaicin to tame the fire. On your hot chicken sandwich, this translates best as a sauce — a bit of plain yogurt could easily be transformed into a tasty sauce with the addition of some citrus, fresh herbs and spices, or you could go for something classic like a homemade ranch dressing. And when it comes to battling heat with dairy, full-fat options tend to be the best choice. 

There are two other categories that can help dial down the spice level of your hot chicken sandwich — sweet and sour. Just like milk proteins, sugar molecules are well suited to bond with capsaicin, which means they're ideal for taming hot chicken that's a little too spicy. Hot honey is a classic pairing (you can find it in our fried chicken sliders with simple slaw and hot honey), which makes it a great place to start.

An easy way to add some sweetness to your hot chicken is simply by mixing a bit of honey into the sauce coating your chicken. Unlike sugar, which can be grainy if not properly dissolved in a sauce, honey blends effortlessly into whatever you're slathering on your chicken. If you've only discovered your hot chicken is too spicy after it's fried up and coated in sauce, try drizzling some honey over everything to add that cooling punch of sweetness.

Finally, since capsaicin is alkaline in nature, using something on the other end of the pH scale (aka something acidic) will neutralize the capsaicin's heat enough that you can still enjoy your chicken sandwich. Coleslaw is a popular topping on hot chicken sandwiches, so try adding in a few splashes of citrus juice or vinegar to amp up the acidity — our traditional coleslaw recipe uses apple cider vinegar for some tang.