National Fried Chicken Day is celebrated annually on July 6th to honor the dish that became one of America’s favorite comfort foods. The day celebrates the dish’s roots in many cultures, with variations spanning the globe.

The history of fried chicken can be traced back to West Africa, where the chicken was seasoned, dredged in flour, and fried in palm oil. Enslaved Africans brought this cooking technique with them to the United States, where it eventually became a popular Southern dish.

The first recipe for fried chicken was published in 1747 by English cook Hannah Glasse. However, fried chicken has been around for thousands of years. The earliest stories of fried chicken come from China, the Middle East, and West Africa.

The origins of American fried chicken probably lie somewhere between Scotland and West Africa. The 145,000-odd Scots who made their way to the American South in the 18th century brought with them a tradition of battering and frying chicken.

At the time, fried chicken wasn’t the easiest dish to prepare. As such, it became associated with important occasions like church feasts.

Fried chicken was brought to the United States by Scottish and West African immigrants. Scottish immigrants brought the practice of deep-frying chicken in fat to the American South. These immigrants perfected the art of frying chicken, many of whom were forced to work in the kitchens of slave plantations.

Fried chicken is popular because it’s simple to cook and enjoy. It’s also tasty, cheap, and convenient.

The real fried chicken boom happened during the second half of the 20th century, when fast food became a thing. Once fast food met fried chicken, it spread like wildfire. First, fried chicken took over America; then, it took over the world.

Fried chicken became one of the most popular and important southern cuisines in the United States. 49% of Americans eat fried chicken at least once a week.

 

Here Are Some Fun Facts About Fried Chicken:

• There is no single inventor of fried chicken.
• Slavery and segregation were essential to its rise in popularity.
• Slaves were generally allowed to keep chickens, so frying them up on special occasions during the antebellum years became relatively commonplace.
• Historians believe that Scottish chicken frying techniques (lard and no seasoning) and West African chicken pan frying techniques (palm oil, lots of seasoning) were combined by enslaved African and African Americans in the antebellum South.
• The term chicken-fried comes from the manner in which the meat is breaded and cooked, which is similar to the preparation of fried chicken.
• From the 17th to 19th Centuries, conventional wisdom designated the American South as fried chicken’s native habitat.

 

Fried chicken is known for being crispy, crunchy, and juicy. The dish can also be spicy and salty.

The perfect fried chicken has a flavorful crust that contrasts with the tender chicken inside. The starch is deeply browned, which allows the complex flavors created by the Maillard reaction to shine through.

The secret to crispy fried chicken is deep-frying at between 302-374 degrees Fahrenheit in canola, vegetable, or peanut oil. These fats reach the high temperatures required to get crispy skin without smoking.

 

Here is a Fried Chicken Recipe for you to Try:

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs
• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Buffalo Hot Sauce optional
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Dredging Mixture

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying

 

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, hot sauce (optional, for added flavor), salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add in chicken pieces. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
2. When ready to cook, pour the vegetable oil in a skillet until it is about 3/4 inch deep. Heat to 350 degrees.
3. Prepare the breading by combining the flour, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, white pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt in a gallon sized resealable plastic bag or shallow dish. Mix it thoroughly.
4. Working one at a time, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk mixture. Shake it gently to remove the excess. Place it in the breading mix and coat thoroughly. Tap off the excess.
5. Place the breaded chicken into the 350-degree oil. Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time. The chicken will drop the temperature of the oil so keep it as close to 350 degrees as possible. Fry each piece for 14 minutes, turning each piece about halfway through, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
6. Remove from the oil and place on paper towels. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

 

To make fried chicken taste better, you can add salt during each step of the process. You can also add spices to the chicken’s coating, such as Chile powder, garlic powder, cayenne powder, salt, and black pepper.

 

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was the first fried chicken restaurant chain in the United States. Harland Sanders started selling food out of a gas station in 1930. He turned his single restaurant in Kentucky into a franchise a few years after World War II.

The South is considered the birthplace of American-style fried chicken. Scottish immigrants are sometimes credited with creating the recipe, but many believe it was brought from Africa.

Americans consume roughly 8 billion chickens a year, or 21,917,808 per day. That’s over 80 pounds of chicken per person each year.

In 2020, 178.98 million Americans consumed frozen fried chicken. This figure is projected to increase to 184.02 million in 2024.

According to a survey, 49% of Americans eat fried chicken at least once a week. 30% of Americans eat fried chicken once a month or less, 22% eat it every couple weeks, 21% eat it about once a week, 22% eat it multiple times a week, and 6% eat it every day.

The United States is the country that consumes the greatest amount of chicken. Which begs the question, “How do you like your fried chicken?” Do you have any secrets that you’d like to share?