For many, Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with the official start of summer, often marked by backyard barbecues where homegrown pitmasters try their hand at smoked butts, grilled summer veggies and homemade sides. In Nashville, a party centered around food wouldnât be complete without hot chicken, a dish made famous by chefs and restaurants in Music City long before it became the destination it is today, with each putting his or her own spin on the spicy, smoky favorite.Â
But one chef has added a whole new meaning to the term âhot take.â With a few rounds of trial and error, a âsecret recipeâ hot chicken paste from a local business owner and a determination to take the hot chicken craze to the next level, Hattie Janeâs Creamery Executive Pastry Chef Lokelani Alabanza enters the scene with an unexplainably delicious Nashville Hot Chicken ice cream, just in time for the holiday weekend.
The flavor is sweet, yet smoky, tangy and creamy â with appropriate heat, true to the original. The hot chicken paste â given to Alabanza by James Lund, owner of Duck River Books on the downtown Columbia Square â includes garlic, bourbon, sugar, smoked paprika and cayenne, and boy, do the flavors show up in the ice cream. Looking to achieve that perfect zing, Alabanza added a few secret ingredients of her own and a true culinary delight was born.
âItâs an honor for me to pay homage to this beloved Nashville staple in such a unique way,â Alabanza said. âMr. Lundâs hot chicken paste gave me a fantastic, robustly flavored base on which to build the ice cream, and I hope our customers will step outside the box with us and enjoy it as much as we do. Itâs wild to see how good these sweet and savory flavors can be when melded together.â
Hot chicken may be her most sensational flavor yet, but thereâs a close second. Puckettâs Barbecue ice cream also came to life recently, featuring the restaurantâs signature sauce.
A palate-pleasing cousin to the hot chicken, this ice cream is just as Puckettâs employees describe the Southern eateryâs popular barbecue sauce â a little sweet, with a little heat. Charred pineapple blended with the sauce in a vanilla base offers the perfect complement of flavors sure to thrill all lovers of âcue and âcream alike.
Both limited edition flavors will be available at Hattie Janeâs in Columbia and Murfreesboro, Tenn. Saturday, May 26 through Monday, May 28 â or while supplies last.
Alabanza is a professionally trained pastry chef who joined A. Marshall Hospitality in 2016. In addition to Hattie Janeâs, she is the executive pastry chef for Homestead Manor, the companyâs multi-layer concept in Thompsonâs Station and Deaconâs New South, A. Marshallâs newest restaurant in downtown Nashville that features dry-aged steaks, elevated seafood dishes, locally sourced sides and a robust beverage program.
Alabanza is known for her creative ice cream flavors, often combining savory and sweet ingredients like chocolate covered kettle  or bacon & waffles. Other summer food-themed favorites have included ambrosia salad, Arnold Palmer, roasted strawberry cobbler and Mimiâs sundrop cake. To learn more, visit www.hattiejanescreamery.com.Â
Find Hattie Janeâs at 12 Public Square in Columbia or 116 N Church St in Murfreesboro.
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