The World's Hottest Chicken Sandwich Is Now Burning Up NYC

From Dave’s Hot Chicken (which now serves a tastebud-friendly “Not Chicken” cauliflower option) to Raising Cane’s to Jolibee, midtown Manhattan is home to a an extra-large coop’s worth of fast-casual poultry purveyors, most of which offer a spicy version of their signature product. In honor of International Hot and Spicy Food Day this week, Chelsea-based Brine — which just opened a location in New Jersey — has taken their chili-rubbed hot chicken sandwich up 11 and continued to turn the dial.

Put together throughout a 15-minute process that requires plenty of PPE for executive chef Joe LoNigro, Brine’s new DNE Chicken Sandwich is stocked with Scovilles and requires foodie fire-eaters to book an appointment and sign a waiver before they can indulge in the inferno. Customers who are willing to do both those things, as well as pony up the $25 purchase price, can also request the type of milk they’d prefer to use during the chicken challenge.

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Named because its ingredients are all labeled “Do Not Eat,” the DNE features Ghost pepper-seasoned onion strings, Carolina Reaper sweet chili sauce and Carolina Reaper smoky aioli. Topped off with a homemade hot sauce composed of a blend of Reaper, Ghost and Arbol Chilis, the chicken sandwich is served on a bun that’s been doused and glazed with Carolina Reaper extract.

It looks like a painful piece of poultry…

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Available through the end of February — don’t forget it’s a Leap Year — the sandwich has already been conquered by one brave soul, who appeared to finish it with relative ease in an online video of the first DNE chicken challenge.

Customers who can defeat the DNE will walk away with a fire in their belly and a $50 gift card in their hand that’s valid at both of Brine’s locations. Appointments are available each day from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. and can be booked here.

Meet your guide

Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”