National Fried Chicken Day

National Fried Chicken Day is observed in the United States of America annually on July 6. It is unclear how the day originated. In observance of the day, fried chicken is prepared in a variety of ways, and eaten.

Some chain fried chicken restaurants such as Church's Chicken and KFC, and other chain restaurants such as Grandy's, offer promotions on National Fried Chicken Day.

Fried Chicken

Southern fried chicken, also known simply as fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces which have been coated in a seasoned batter and pan-fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat. Broiler chickens are most commonly used.

The first dish known to have been deep fried was fritters, which were popular in the European Middle Ages. However, it was the Scottish who were the first Europeans to deep fry their chicken in fat (though without seasoning). Meanwhile, several West African peoples had traditions of seasoned fried chicken (though battering and cooking the chicken in palm oil). Scottish frying techniques and West African seasoning techniques were combined by enslaved Africans and African-Americans in the American South.

History

The Roman cookbook of Apicius (4th century) has a recipe for deep-fried chicken called Pullum Frontonianum.

The American English expression "fried chicken" is first recorded in the 1830s, and frequently appears in American cookbooks of the 1860s and 1870s. The origin of fried chicken in the southern states of America has been traced to precedents in Scottish and West African cuisine. Scottish fried chicken was cooked in fat (though unseasoned) while West African fried chicken was seasoned (but battered and cooked in palm oil). Scottish frying techniques and African seasoning techniques were used in the American South by African slaves. Fried chicken provided some means of independent economy for enslaved and segregated African-American women, who became noted sellers of poultry (live or cooked) as early as the 1730s. Because of this and the expensive nature of the ingredients, it was, despite popular belief, a rare dish in the African-American community reserved (as in Africa) for special occasions.