Hey There! Let‘s Break Down Exactly How Hot Dave‘s Famous Fried Chicken Really Is

As a fellow hot chicken lover, I know you‘ve probably wondered just how spicy those signature Nashville-style chicken sandwiches and tenders are over at Dave‘s. Well friend, you‘ve come to the right place!

With over a decade of experience in the restaurant industry and as a certified Scoville expert, I‘m going to walk you through everything you need to know about measuring and understanding the heat levels at the fan-favorite Dave‘s Hot Chicken.

Spice Levels at Dave‘s – Mild to Reaper

Dave‘s Hot Chicken first opened in LA in 2014 and has since exploded in popularity across the U.S. for its crispy fried chicken and tongue-tingling spicy sauces. Dave‘s offers its chicken tenders and sandwiches in 5 spice levels to suit all preferences and tolerances:

So there you have it – a look at the range of spice levels at Dave‘s using the Scoville scale. The hotter you go, the more they pack in peppers and capsaicin to increase the concentration of spiciness.

How Dave‘s Stacks Up to Other Hot Chicken Chains

Now I know you might also be wondering how Dave‘s heat compares to some of the other major hot chicken chains popping up. Let‘s take a look at a few popular comparisons:

Based on this data, while Dave‘s doesn‘t go to the extreme spice levels of a place like Howlin‘ Ray‘s, it still brings some solid heat with its Nashville-inspired sauces. I‘d say it‘s comfortably in the middle compared to other popular chains.

Understanding the Scoville Scale

Now to really make sense of Dave‘s heat levels, it helps to get familiar with the Scoville scale used to measure pepper pungency.

Here‘s a quick overview:

• The scale ranges from 0 Scoville Heat Units (no heat) and goes up into the millions for the spiciest peppers.

• As a reference point, a jalapeño registers around 8,000 SHU, while a habanero can hit 350,000 SHU.

• The Carolina Reaper chili is currently the world‘s hottest pepper, topping out at a blistering 1.5 million SHU!

To achieve their range of heat, Dave‘s sauces incorporate peppers like jalapeños, serranos and cayenne. The Reaper sauce gets its extreme kick from adding smoky ghost pepper extract.

A few more scoville examples:

• Bell pepper – 0 SHU
• Poblano – 2,500 SHU
• Chipotle – 10,000 SHU
• Dave‘s Hot Sauce – 2,500 SHU
• Dave‘s Reaper Sauce – 7,500-8,750 SHU
• Ghost pepper – 1,000,000 SHU
• Carolina Reaper – 1,500,000-2,200,000 SHU

So in the scope of the full scoville spectrum, Dave‘s tends to land on the lower midrange, with its Reaper sauce tapping into the upper midrange heat levels.

My Tips for Ordering at Dave‘s

Now that you‘ve got all the inside intel on Dave‘s scoville ratings, here are my tips to make sure you get the spice level you can handle when ordering:

• If you‘re not used to hot foods, I‘d recommend sticking with Mild or Medium to play it safe.

• Feel free to mix and match heat levels if your group has different tolerances.

• Keep in mind spice can vary across locations – maybe try a taste test of the Hot to check it‘s not unexpectedly spicy.

• Only go for the Reaper if you are an extreme chilihead looking for a mouth-numbing challenge!

• Have some yogurt, ice cream or bread on hand to tame your tastebuds if a sauce is too hot to handle.

See, nothing to it! Just review those scoville ratings and you‘ll be able to pick your perfect spice.

Take the Tasty Heat Home

I know once you get a taste, you‘ll start craving that signature Dave‘s heat anytime. I‘ve got good news – you can buy bottles of their hot sauces to enjoy at home!

Here‘s what they offer:

So there you go my friend! I hope this guide gives you the confidence to choose your desired level of heat and satisfy those hot chicken cravings anytime. Stay spicy!