Feel the burn: Nashville Kosher Hot Chicken contest scheduled

While kosher barbecue contests continue to proliferate across the country, and other contests involve everything from chili to red beans and rice, the Nashville Jewish community is unveiling the first Kosher Hot Chicken Festival.

Nashville-style hot chicken isn’t Buffalo wings. Several restaurants serve up the city’s fiery signature dish. According to legend, hot chicken was born when a woman found out her man was cheating on her. For revenge, she made his favorite meal, fried chicken — only, she coated the chicken with cayenne.

He loved it, and thus an industry was born.

In the hot chicken spectrum, mild is about equivalent to a Popeye’s spicy. Medium is much hotter, hot is even more extreme and people work up to sample extra hot — which some people eat while soaking in a cold bathtub, and others have likened to a religious experience.

Since this is a kosher event, there won’t be any dairy products to help with the pain.

Teams in the Nov. 8 contest at the Gordon Jewish Community Center will deliver entries in medium, hot and extra hot categories. Prizes will be awarded for tenders, drumsticks, team name and people’s choice.

Registration and event information is available online here.