Dirty Bird Is the Word For Nashville-Style Hot Chicken
Dirty Bird Fried Chxx underscores the idea that fried chicken is hot these days, in every sense of the word. The Nashville hot chicken trend has spread across the country, although I don’t think Dirty Bird was the first to bring the idea to Utah. I would credit Viet Pham’s Pretty Bird, which opened in 2018 and now has three locations, for acquainting Utahns with the fiery, crispy-crunchy fried chicken.
When I recently did a Standard-Examiner story, I found out that Dirty Bird started out in a tiny Hut Food Hall in Provo, next to the BYU campus. It did so well that last year it was acquired by Wag’s Capital, the same investment company that brought the Everbowl “superfood” chain to Utah. Last September, Wag’s opened a second Dirty Bird location at Ogden’s Riverbend development at 350 Park Blvd., and another Dirty Bird is scheduled to open in Clearfield in June. Interviews with the original founder, Michael McHenry, talk about opening as many as 30 Dirty Birds. But I’m wondering if the current labor shortages and high food prices might slow some of that growth?
“Chicken sandwiches are all the rage right now,” said Dirty Bird’s manager Filippo Castronovo. “We say we’re Nashville-inspired, because we’ve taken the concept and made it our own.”
Nashville’s hot chicken legend goes back more than 75 years to a supposedly handsome, philandering man named Thornton Prince, according to his great-niece André Prince Jeffries. One night he stepped out on his girlfriend, and the next day she took revenge by making him fried chicken, but liberally doused with hot pepper. Instead of making him sorry, he found he liked the mouth-numbing chicken. Thornton Prince ended up opening his own “chicken shack” to serve up this sizzling dish, and the family legacy of Prince’s Hot Chicken continues today, run by Andre Prince Jeffries. Over the years, other hot fried chicken joints sprang up, making the dish almost as famous to Nashville as its Grand Ole Opry.
Dirty Bird doesn’t try to be all things to all people. The menu is minimalist: five different fried chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, and four side choices — fries, “dirty” fries, mac ‘n’ cheese or banana pudding. That’s it. If you’d like a burger or a salad, move along. Recently the fast casual restaurant branched out a bit with a weekend brunch menu. Its two choices are fried chicken and waffles, and a breakfast burrito featuring — what else? — fried chicken.
“We love that our menu is simple,” said manager Filippo Castronovo. “It’s not a Cheesecake Factory booklet that you have to read through and try to figure out what to order.”
The sandwiches are made from boneless chicken thighs, because they’re juicier, said Castronovo.
Also, it’s pretty common knowledge that thighs are less expensive than breasts, which have a higher consumer demand. And most chefs say that thighs have more flavor. So there’s that.
Castronovo said the chicken is hand-trimmed, with about 5-7 ounces of meat per sandwich. Then it’s brined overnight to add flavor and juiciness before being fried to crispy-crunchiness. After that, it’s dipped in chili oil, and the heat can vary from mild to mouth-searing, and you can choose your own heat level.
“We can make them cry if they want to,” Castronovo said.
The chili oil is made in-house. “We grind our own chiles, mostly African Birds Eye chiles because they have a combination of both heat and flavor. So you get a lot of flavor, not just heat,” he said. (African Birds Eye chiles are also known as piri-piri.)
“Also we add a little paprika and cayenne,” he added.
Besides pickles and mayo, the sandwiches have a few variations.
The Plain Jane is simply fried chicken, pickles and a choice of sauce on the side.
The Classic has chili oil, spicy ketchup, and “ranchberg” lettuce (shredded iceberg lettuce tossed in ranch dressing). Castronovo said the ranch dressing helps cool down the heat.
The signature Dirty Bird is topped with chili oil, pimiento cheese and bacon, spicy ketchup and mayo.
“It’s our name, so it’s a good one to try,” Castronovo said.
Pimento cheese — a cheddar-y spread mixed with pimentos — is a Southern thing that isn’t as familiar to Utah. The signature “Dirty” fries are also topped with pimiento cheese.
“We explain pimiento cheese a lot to customers,” Castronovo said. “My mom’s side of the family is from the South, so I grew up eating pimento sandwiches.”
The Hot sandwich has extra-hot chili oil, spicy ketchup, and pickled jalapenos. “It will clean out your sinuses for you,” Castronovo said.
The Hot and Dirty combines the Hot and Dirty Bird toppings on one sandwich.
The banana pudding is another Southern favorite, and Castronovo thinks everyone should try it.
“Everyone who gets it the first time keeps coming back for it.”
Also customers who are in-the-know will ask for a drizzle of house-made hot honey their sandwich. “It really enhances any sandwich, for just 50 cents more,” he said.
Castronovo said, “We want to promote that Southern hospitality and be welcoming to people.”
Castronovo recently graduated in biomedical science from BYU-Hawaii, but his culinary experience came from working in his family’s Southern California bakery chain. His wife, Phoebe Castronovo, is also a recent BYU-Hawaii grad, and teaches school locally.
“I was planning to do a gap year before continuing with my schooling, and happened to find this position,” he said. “Within a week I was here, in training and ready to open, and it’s been really great. We have a bright future here.”
Location: 350 Park Blvd., Ogden
Contact: https://www.dirtybirdchxx.com/ogden (801) 961-4040
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Price range: $7-11