Food Holidays: July 6th, 2021

Good morning, welcome to our series sharing Food Holidays: July 6th, 2021. It’s National Fried Chicken Day. Can you believe my dad taught me how to cook Chicken.

I sure which he was here because both my dad and David love Fired Chicken and it would be nice to have Chicken for Dinner this evening. Would you like to join us?

July 6th National Fried Chicken Day

Fried Chicken is a greasy, indulgent comfort food enjoyed all over the world. But did you know that the ultimate Soul Food originated in our own backyard — where Scottish Chicken-frying methods were combined with West African Seasoning traditions — to create what is now one of the world’s favorite guilty pleasures?

Fried chicken was an expensive delicacy up until World War II, but thanks to mass production techniques, we’re now able to indulge ourselves on cheap Fried Chicken in almost any City in the world. on July 6th, we get out our buckets of Chicken and napkins, because it’s National Fried Chicken Day.

History of National Fried Chicken Day

American Fried Chicken is considered the best, but Americans weren’t the first to create Fried Chicken. Europeans were already frying Chickens back in the Middle Ages, but it was the Scottish immigrants to the U.S. who brought with them their tradition of deep-frying Chicken in fat.

Their preferred style of eating Fried Chicken was with no Seasoning so their recipe was slightly bland. African slaves of the Scottish Immigrants adopted the Fried Chicken Recipe, often adding more spices as their own unique touch in the way Fried Chicken was cooked. Fried Chicken became a staple in many Southern-American households when African Slaves became cooks there.

One basis of this theory is from James Boswell’s journal titled “Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.” In 1773, he wrote about eating Fricassee of fowl for dinner, served by the locals — “fried chicken or something like that.”

The earliest known recipe for Fried Chicken was written by Hannah Glasse in the 18th Century in her cookbook titled “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.” Her recipe was strangely named ‘To Marinate Chickens,’ and its first publication was in 1747.

The history of Fried Chicken wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the king of Fried Chicken himself, Colonel Harland David Sanders. After doing a range of jobs, he came up with the genius idea of cooking Fried Chicken fast using a blend of seasoning and a pressure cooker.

When he first started selling the dish at his restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, it wasn’t an instant success. At the age of 65, he hit the road selling his Fried Chicken under the name “Kentucky Fried Chicken.”

As part of his business, he adopted the title of Colonel. By 1964, when the Colonel sold his company, there were 600 KFC franchises all over the country.

Fried Chicken continues to spark the interest of food lovers and consumers. In 2019, Popeye’s launched their Fried Chicken Sandwich, which caused a huge sensation. The craze and hype for the Chicken Sandwich continues with an ongoing ‘Chicken war’ between competing franchises.

Five Food Finds about Chicken:

1. The greatest height a Chicken Egg has been dropped from without cracking is 700ft.
2. This bird was probably first domesticated for the purpose of Cockfights, not as food.
3. Chickens aren’t completely flightless—they can get airborne enough to make it over a fence or into a tree.
4. These Birds are Omnivores. They’ll eat seeds and insects but also larger prey like small Mice and Lizards.
5. With 25 billion Chickens in the world, there are more of them than any other Bird species.

Ingredients

Recipe yields 8 servings

• 1 (4 pound) Chicken, cut into pieces
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose Flour for coating
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 quarts Vegetable Oil for frying

Directions

• Step 1 Take your cut up chicken pieces and skin them if you prefer. Put the flour in a large plastic bag (let the amount of chicken you are cooking dictate the amount of flour you use). Season the flour with paprika, salt and pepper to taste (paprika helps to brown the chicken).
• Step 2 Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk then, a few at a time, put them in the bag with the flour, seal the bag and shake to coat well. Place the coated chicken on a cookie sheet or tray, and cover with a clean dish towel or waxed paper. LET SIT UNTIL THE FLOUR IS OF A PASTE-LIKE CONSISTENCY. THIS IS CRUCIAL!
• Step 3 Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about 1/3 to 1/2 full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot. Put in as many chicken pieces as the skillet can hold. Brown the chicken in HOT oil on both sides. When browned, reduce heat and cover skillet; let cook for 30 minutes (the chicken will be cooked through but not crispy). Remove cover, raise heat again and continue to fry until crispy.
• Step 4 Drain the fried chicken on paper towels. Depending on how much chicken you have, you may have to fry in a few shifts. Keep the finished chicken in a slightly warm oven while preparing the rest.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates