Fried Chicken: The Dish We All Grew Up With
Fried chicken is one of the most delicious foods anyone has ever tasted, the world over. This article talks about some fascinating facts about this all-time favorite’s origins, a bit of trivia, plus a few easy tips on how to make the perfect chow right in your own kitchen.
The Scottish Invented Fried Chicken
It was in Scotland where housewives and mothers first deep-fried chicken in fat. The usual cooking method at the time, all over the world, was to either boil or bake chicken. The Scottish eventually brought this fare with them to America from which it spread elsewhere.
Fried Chicken was a Dish Reserved for Special Occasions
Owing to the dearth of spring chicken, the requisite amount of fat which was also running short during the pre-world war ll era and the length of time needed in its preparation, it was not until the early 1900s that fried chicken was served and enjoyed by families during ordinary meals. Previous to this, fried chicken was a dish that was customarily reserved only for special occasions and holidays.
Slavery and Segregation Played a Major Role in its Popularity
During the antebellum years, slaves were not allowed to keep cattle and pigs but were usually given the opportunity to raise chickens. This gave them the chance to celebrate important life occasions by way of cooking up some special fare like fried fried chicken. And even after slavery had been abolished, segregation still did not entitle African-Americans to patronize a lot of restaurants, thus fried chicken, being a dish that doesn’t spoil easily became a more popular food especially in a time when refrigerators were unheard of.
Only the Young Birds Were Suitable for Cooking
During the early days, chickens and most of the other animals were grown free-range. Breeding for special purposes was not practiced unlike in these modern times when all the available chickens for sale are broilers, suitable for cooking any which way. Since older fowl are quite tough and necessitate long hours of cooking, earlier on, only young chickens were suitable for frying.
Fried Chicken is Cooked in Different Ways All Over the World
Being a very easy fowl to raise, every country the world over has its own delicious version of fried chicken. There are those who fry them in butter and seasonings and spices while some like them quite plain. They can also be fried either whole or cut up into pieces. Find the most excellent fried chicken in Australia, have loads of fun with friends over a couple of bottles of beer, go ahead, you deserve it!
The Three Primary Methods of Frying Chicken
Chicken is fried using three basic methods which are:
- Deep frying – submerging the chicken whole or in pieces in fat or oil; this is considered the easiest method and fries evenly
- Pressure Frying – roasting, as it is also called, takes a shorter cooking time than traditional deep frying; the resultant cooked chicken is usually more tender and juicy
- Pan-frying in a cast-iron skillet – this is the most old-fashioned technique; a lot of people consider this the best method due to ample browning and better control of temperature
Buttermilk Brine: The Secret Ingredient
According to some foodie experts, brining the chicken in spiced and salty buttermilk mixture will keep your fried chicken moist and tender. In addition, mixing a bit of this buttermilk mixture into a dry breading mix creates some little clumps of batter giving your chicken an extra crunchy crust.
