The Bottom Line: Delicious facts about fried chicken!
The Full Story:
- Alektorophobia is the fear of chickens.
- There are more chickens on earth than people.
- Popeye’s Chicken is named after the character Popeye Doyle in the movie “The French Connection.”
- In Great Britain over three quarters of all litter from chicken production is used to generate electricity.
- Our modern domesticated chickens are all descendants of the red jungle fowl of India and Southeast Asia. They have been domesticated for at least 4,000 years.
- Did fried chicken originate in the United States? The answer is "yes and no." Fried chicken that we eat today originated in the United States, but the concept of frying this meat originated in Europe in the Middle Ages. Scottish immigrants are widely believed to have brought fried chicken to the U.S.A., but it was African immigrants, brought to work on plantations in southern states, that improved the recipe with varied spices and seasonings.
- Fried chicken first graced the planet with its godly presence in the form of fricassee. Fricassee is a method of cooking that involves fried piece of meat braised in a sauce.
- Until the 1960s, chicken was more expensive than beef and veal.
- Martha Washington, the first First Lady of the United States of America, had two recipes for fried chicken. Okay, technically they were recipes for fricassee chicken, but let’s not split hairs.
- During the Civil War, soldiers were sent fried chicken in care packages because the frying process made it harder for meat to spoil.
- More than half of all chicken entrees ordered in restaurants are for fried chicken.
- Chicken and waffles first appeared in Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 17th During this time, cooks made waffles topped with pulled chicken and gravy.
- The largest serving of fried chicken was served at Kentucky Fried Chicken in celebration of the restaurant's 70th anniversary and was 2,493.35 pounds.
- The human body can derive about 30 different nutritional substances from just 100 grams of chicken.
- In China, KFC sells Irish Fried Chicken dipped in Bailey’s liqueur. But if you’re wondering how folks around the world bite into what we consider an American classic, here you go:
- True American fried chicken is not the deep-fried, thickly battered stuff of fast food buckets. Real Southern-style fried chicken is coated in an egg and milk mixture before being dredged in a dry mix, typically made up of cayenne, paprika, garlic and onion powder and flour. It fries slowly, being turned only once, in inch-deep oil (usually vegetable or Crisco) in a large skillet, preferably a well-seasoned cast iron number owned by your grandmother. Pair with biscuits, gravy and ice-cold beer.
- Wanna head to the islands? Chicken Chicharron (Chicharrón de Pollo) is a Caribbean dish that originated in the Dominican Republic. These crispy little chicken nuggets can be found all over the country and are comprised of ingredients such as rum, lime juice, soy sauce, and paprika.
- In Japan, fried chicken is known as karaage, the home-style chicken is cut into small pieces (a single breast yields six nuggets) and marinated in ginger, garlic and soy before being dipped into whisked eggs and corn starch and twice-fried in a manner similar to tempura.
- Over in Korea, they fry it twice. To ensure a crunchy bite without a lot of grease, the Korean version is dunked twice resulting in a crust that's thinner and crispier than its American counterpart. It's not coated in flour, so the exterior is all skin, typically dressed in a sweet-spicy sauce of soy, Korean chili paste, vinegar, sesame oil and honey. More recently, however, they’ve begun kicking it in more of an American style – serving fried chicken with beer.
- In Thailand, fried chicken is meant to be eaten with sticky rice, so the marinade has to be strong. A classic marinade is made up of garlic, coriander seeds, white peppercorns, cilantro, oyster sauce, salt and sugar, and soaks into the chicken for at least six hours. The coating on this is thinner and not crunchy like the American version.
- The secret to fried chicken in Senegal is peanut flour, which "gives the crust a nutty, feathery crunch." The seasoning combines peanut flour, sea salt, ground ginger, onion and garlic powders, cayenne and black pepper. It should cover the chicken and refrigerate overnight. Coat in plain flour before frying and serve with sautéed plantains and sautéed greens.