Shake Shack puts spicy twist on menu with Hot Ones-inspired entrees. What to know

Shake Shack is adding a spicy kick to its classic menu items with the launch of a new “Hot Ones” menu.

The New York City-based burger chain teamed up with First We Feast’s popular YouTube series of the same name to launch four fiery new entrees, available at restaurants nationwide starting on Friday, Sept. 16.

Eager fans can get early access to the menu on Tuesday, Sept. 13, via the mobile Shack App, according to a news release. The collaboration brings a spicy twist to the chain’s classic items including:

• Hot Ones™ Burger: 100% Angus beef burger topped with Hot Ones™ Spicy ShackSauce, applewood smoked bacon and Monterey Jack cheese on a toasted potato bun.

• Hot Ones™ Chicken: Crispy, white-meat chicken topped with Hot Ones™ Spicy ShackSauce, applewood smoked bacon and Monterey Jack cheese on a toasted potato bun.

• Hot Ones™ Cheese Fries: Crispy crinkle cuts topped with cheese sauce and dusted with Aleppo Pepper, served with Hot Ones™ Spicy ShackSauce.

• Hot Ones™ Bacon Cheese Fries: Crispy crinkle cuts topped with applewood-smoked bacon, cheese sauce and dusted with Aleppo pepper, served with Hot Ones™ Spicy ShackSauce.

With more than 11 million subscribers, Hot Ones challenges guests, often celebrities, to answer poignant questions about life and career while feasting on hot wings of varying levels of spiciness. The heat factor, measured by the Scoville scale, increases with each question.

Fans looking for extra spice can purchase a packet of Hot Ones’ The Last Dab: Apollo hot sauce — which has an estimated Scoville rating of 2.5 million+ SHUs — at restaurants for a limited time, the release says. For comparison, Texas Pete Original Hot Sauce has 340-740 Scoville heat units.

“Partnering with brands that value the same commitment to creativity and fun that we do is important, and we can’t wait to show our fans what we’ve been cooking up,” Mark Rosati, culinary director at Shake Shack, said in a statement.

Find your nearest Shake Shack here.

Tanasia Kenney

Sun Herald

Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.