Review: Houston Hot Chicken Spicy and Lift Off Tenders

Bottom Line: The Spicy and Lift Off Tenders from Houston Hot Chicken are hefty, tasty, and bring quite a burn.

There’s no shortage of hot chicken joints these days, with major franchises across the country, local chains, and even food trucks jumping into the game. This past week while in Houston, I stopped at Houston Hot Chicken, which features Nashville-style hot chicken and has locations throughout California, Nevada, Utah, and more—though oddly, only one within the city limits of Houston, Texas. Yeah, I haven’t quite figured all that out yet, but what I did discover is that they serve some darn good hot chicken.

This chain has chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, chicken and waffles, chicken-loaded fries, chicken salads, and more. And you can get them at various heat levels, starting from No Heat and going all the way up to “Houston, We Have a Problem!” which is rated at 2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) and requires a waiver.  When I first try out places like this, I like to start with the tenders by themselves. And since I don’t like heat for the sake of pain (which the top level certainly delivers), I ordered one tender at the second-hottest level (Lift Off Heat – 600K SHU) and one at the third-hottest (Spicy – 150K SHU).

These folks are cooking up some seriously big chicken tenders, and they have a nice crust that is not heavy on the breading but still delivers some crunch. The cuts are thick, meaty breast pieces—super tender throughout and quite juicy, but not greasy. They’re also heavily seasoned and deliver an intense, peppery flavor. There’s just a touch of sweetness to balance out the burn, and you know right away that you’re eating something with real heat.  Their House sauce (which reminded me of what Raising Cane’s offers) adds a little extra sweetness and pairs well with the tenders. But I actually preferred their tangy, flavorful barbecue sauce with the chicken.

The Spicy tender kicked in right away and had my mouth tingling. I’d place it just Hot on my scale, though not quite up to Fiery. The average mortal will definitely feel the burn at this level, but chiliheads should be able to scarf it down without too much trouble. The Lift Off tender brought a similar flavor profile but kicked the heat past the Fiery mark on my scale. If I had ordered two at that level, I’d have struggled—and probably regretted it later.

I’m already planning a return visit, and I’ll try one tender at the highest heat level just to see how it stacks up to Dave’s Hot Chicken and others pushing the Insane boundary. They call these Nashville Hot style, though the heat comes from seasoning rather than the oil-based sauce that’s more traditional in that region. In flavor and style, I’d compare them closely to Dave’s, though the tenders at HHC are larger and more flavorful.

I got the combo with two tenders and fries for $10.99, which is a solid deal considering the size and quality of the meal. You definitely won’t leave hungry—and you might need to schedule a little extra time at the gym afterward.  If you’re in the Houston area, your only options for Houston Hot Chicken are the Louetta location north of town or the Katy, TX spot on the west side. But if you’re on the West Coast, you’re in luck—they’ve got several locations. You can search for one near you on their website.