July 6th is National Fried Chicken Day so if you have a craving for a wing or a drumstick, prepare to celebrate this very unique holiday in true Southern style, and prepare to chow down on some of the best tasting fried chicken that this country has to offer. The simple theme of National Fried Chicken Day is to give people a reason to honor, appreciate, and enjoy the unique history and taste of this traditional Southern feast.
Fried Chicken actually has a very unique and somewhat vital role in history. Back before refrigeration come into existence there were only so many means of keeping meat from going bad before it could be consumed. Meat could be sun dried, or smoked, and in the winter it could be frozen. If you were dealing with a large amount of meat, as of that from a cow or buffalo, then meat preparation could be very time consuming, and even after the meat was treated there was no guarantee that the meat would not spoil in the hot summer sun. The chicken being a small animal, was easy to consume, and when the meat was fried it could actually last for days without spoilage. Fried chicken kept better than other meats so was a good food to carry with you when you were traveling or also if you were simply not wanting to consume the entire bird in one sitting. Chickens also had the added benefit of providing eggs for consumption until the time that their meat was required at the dining table.
It is believed that it was Scottish Immigrants who were the first within the United States to regularly prepare their chickens through the process of frying them in oil. The chicken is battered in a mixture of flour or crumbs and then dipped into hot oil. This process tends to create a crispy hard coating that locks in, or seals in, the flavorful juices of the meat.
In the deep South where slavery at that time still existed, the process of frying chicken was taken a step further, and the slaves began adding unique and flavorful spices into their coating mix. The slaves did not have a lot of means of support for themselves, but they were generally allowed to keep chickens, and frying chicken with their unique blend of spices became commonplace. Back then this unique and flavorful fried chicken was a distinctly African American meal. But as the recipes were passed along and through colored lines this once humble food became, and is still known by all as, "Southern Fried Chicken".
So unbuckle your pants and prepare to celebrate National Fried Chicken Day in any way, shape, or manner that might best suit your taste buds. You can order in a bucket from your local Kentucky Fried Chicken, or dine in at Popeyes, Big Chic, Chester Chicken or which ever other chicken hot spot is nearby your home, and serves up a delicious fried chicken dinner.
You can choose to fry your own at home over an open fire pit in your back yard, or serve it up hot from your stove top, or grill. You can throw a classy classic Chicken Day party, and invite your friends or business associates to sip fine wine, and dine by candle light on a finger licking good fried chicken dinner. Or you can choose to go all out on July 6th, and invite over as many friends or family members as you can gather together, and throw a true country hoe down of a party featuring a ton of fried chicken as the featured event.
Prepare to do the Chicken Dance, play Pin the tail on the Chicken, and have a good old fashioned Egg Hunt.
You can have an egg tossing contest where your guests form two lines parallel to and facing each other. The game begins with approximately one foot distance separating the one line of guests from the other. Each person in one line is then handed a raw chicken egg. The object is for each of these participants to toss the egg into the hands of the guest directly opposite them. The regulator of the game then calls out, "Step Away", and each person in the other line takes one step further away from their partner. The egg is then tossed back to their team mate. When a couple breaks their egg they are removed from play. The egg tossing then continues until there is only one team left with an unbroken egg and they are officially declared the winner.
Have a wonderful July 6th and a super fantastic National Fried Chicken Day!
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_chicken