How Cumberland Hen started
A grandmother’s cast iron skillets, a used rotisserie from a shuttered grocery and a cinder block building on Gallatin Avenue. Cumberland Hen opened in 2011 serving hot chicken out of the front and spit-roasted birds out of the back, because the family could never agree on which was better.
We still brine every bird for a day, still fry in the same skillets, and still argue about whether the medium should be hotter. It should not. The Reaper is there for people who think it should.
What we insist on
- Whole birds from Tennessee and Kentucky farms, cut in house
- 24 hours in a sweet tea brine, dredged by hand, fried in cast iron
- Cayenne paste mixed every morning with the fat from the fryers
- Rotisserie birds over oak only, two hours, never held longer than one
Who cooks
A kitchen of seven. Three on skillets, one on the spit, two on sides and bread, one on the window. On a Saturday the skillets do not get a break between 11 and 9.
Good to know
How hot is Hot?
Mild is a warm hum, what most first-timers should order. Medium has a kick. Hot makes you sweat. X-Hot hurts, and the Reaper is a habanero and ghost pepper paste we make you ask for twice.
Can I order a whole rotisserie chicken ahead?
Yes. Birds come off the spit at 11, 1, 4 and 6. Pick a time at checkout and yours is carved, or left whole, when you arrive.
What is not hot at all?
The Classic Fried Chicken, every rotisserie plate, the grilled sandwich and the chicken salad. Order anything else at Southern and it comes with no cayenne.
Is anything gluten-free?
The rotisserie chicken, collards, slaw, beans and the salad without croutons. The fryers and dredge are shared, so the fried chicken is not.