When Nashville Hot Chicken Gets the Carolina Reaper Treatment
“I don’t know what they’re doing to these birds but it’s really good,” Guy Fieri declared while watching the crew at Highland Fried work their magic on some seriously spicy fried chicken. Located just outside of Boston, this joint has built a reputation on doing one thing exceptionally well: fried chicken that earned them the title of best chicken in Boston.
Chef Mark Romano, who also runs another restaurant in Somerville, decided to double down on what was working. “We started doing fried chicken and we won like best chicken in Boston,” he explained. “Since I bought this place we just kind of wanted to focus on the fried chicken.”
The Bird Gets the Full Treatment
This Nashville hot chicken starts with an overnight brine of water, salt, and buttermilk, using hormone-free all-natural fresh chicken. When Guy asked if they freeze it, Mark was quick to correct him—it’s fresh, it just “crosses the road.” The next day, the chicken gets coated in a dredge made from all-purpose flour, corn flour, corn starch, salt, black pepper, ground coriander, celery salt, and Old Bay seasoning. After resting in buttermilk for at least half an hour, it goes into a pressure fryer—what Guy lovingly called “a culinary submarine in the flavor town navy.”
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The Hot Sauce That Means Business
But here’s where Highland Fried separates itself from the pack. Their Nashville hot sauce isn’t playing around. The ingredient list reads like a pepper enthusiast’s fever dream: guajillo chilies, anchos, scotch bonnet, habanero, Trinidad scorpion peppers, and their “secret weapon”—the Carolina Reaper. Add brown sugar, salt, paprika, cayenne (which Guy noted “is like a dinner mint compared to the dark chili powder”), and chicken stock, then let it reduce by half. The final step involves pureeing it with Dijon mustard, chicken fat, and duck fat. Guy’s assessment? “That’s a paint remover.”
On top of the sauced chicken comes the Nashville hot shake—those same dried chilies ground up with brown sugar. When Guy initially heard “shake,” he thought they meant a milkshake. “There’s no way I’m drinking that,” he laughed.
Biscuits Worth the Extra Steps
The buttermilk biscuits served alongside deserve their own spotlight. The technique involves making a dry mix of all-purpose flour, vegetable shortening, salt, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder, then freezing it. Grated frozen butter gets incorporated, keeping everything ice cold so the biscuits rise properly—”they go this way as opposed to this way,” as Mark demonstrated. Ice cold buttermilk binds it together, followed by rolling and folding three times for layers. After another freeze, they bake at 350 degrees. Guy joked about the lengthy process: “It’s a half hour show—welcome to the biscuit hour!”
The finished biscuits get butter and a drizzle of honey.
The Verdict
Taking on the three-piece Nashville hot with collard greens, Guy’s eyes started watering. “You get really good heat, not screaming heat,” he said, dabbing at his eyes. “I thought I liked the balance heat, not too over the top. A little bit of sugar and that helps.” The final assessment: “Delicious though. Crunchy, juicy. You’ve done such a great job putting the brine on this—there’s a lot of moisture in there.” The biscuits earned praise too: “Flaky biscuit, super fluffy and airy.”
If you love watching Guy tackle heat, you might also enjoy seeing him try Real-Deal Vietnamese in Cincinnati, OH or check out Stephanie Izard’s Funky Diner in Chicago for more boundary-pushing flavors.
Find Highland Fried and other Triple D spots in our restaurant directory.