Home: Southern Fried Chicken

Simple referred to as 'Fried Chicken', the place of origin is unknown, except that it originated somewhere in the southern states of the United States of America.

Fried chicken is the still the meal of choice for special occasions and Sunday meals for families in the South of the US. The frying of chicken has of course dated back to medieval times.

However, the flour and flavouring used in Southern Fried Chicken are unique to the US. Southern Fried Chicken is heavily associated with the African American culture of the South, and is often referred to as 'Soul Food'.

Fried chicken is prepared by segmenting a whole chicken into joints. The joints are then dipped in milk, eggs, or buttermilk and then dipped in a bowl of flour, spices and herbs. The chicken is then deep or shallow fried.

Commercial fried chicken chains such as KFC deep fry their chicken in a pressure fryer. This allows the chicken to be thoroughly cooked quickly and it maintains moisture and flavour.

The herbs and spices used in Southern Fried Chicken are usually a heavily guarded secret. KFC apparently use eleven herbs and spices, and the Colonel promised that these were spices and herbs found in most homes in the south of the US.

The three key KFC ingredients are most definitely salt, msg and pepper. Other notable ingredients are most probably ginger, sage, cardamom, coriander, nutmeg and savory. Some other possibilities include paprika, garlic, cinnamon, mace, cayenne pepper, anise, marjoram, celery seed, mustard and allspice.