Maryland Fried Chicken

I think there is some confusion here. There is Maryland Fried Chicken, which was a regional franchise chain that I thought was now defunct although there may be a few that have gone independent. I don't believe there were ever many of these in the State of Maryland. Maryland fired chicken is something different entirely.

I am a lifelong Marylander and my family arrived in Maryland in the colonial days. I use a fried chicken recipe that has been handed down in my family from before the Civil War (the oldest written version I have is from the 1890s, but that is not the original). I have seen several other old family recipes for fried chicken (also from Maryland). The recipes vary greatly in terms of seasoning, which is usually fairly simple, but share certain characteristics. Maryland fried chicken is pan-fried with the lid on in about a half-inch of oil (or "fat"). It is marinated in a buttermilk marinade (with or without seasoning). Maryland fried chicken does NOT use eggs. It is not "deep fried" (although that is a wonderful way to cook chicken) in several inches of boiling oil. Other than those "rules" people seem to be all over the map on seasoning, breading, etc.

I hesitate to beat on a dead horse, but, it's the peppery cream gravy that makes the traditional Maryland fried chicken what it is, or once was. Like a lot of dishes it has become corrupted over a lot of years and by a lot of cooks, and it seems that , now, just about any kind of fried chicken can be called "Maryland".

I'm sure all those others mentioned by our friends above are grest dishes, but just because the chicken was fried in Maryland does not make it the real McCoy of "Maryland" fried chicken.

On the other hand, I dont realy care what you choose to call any dish as long as it's tasty (except, I'm still mad as Hell about all the crap being poured by female bartenders calling itself "Martini").

Cheers, John

I should have mentioned the cream gravy as well. Yes that is one of the key aspects of Maryland Fried Chicken. Nonetheless, you can't just pour gravy on some popeyes and call it Maryland Fried Chicken. It is buttermilk-marinated, pan (i.e. not deep) fried chicken using buttermilk (not eggs) to bind the breading, served with a creamy gravy. That's pretty much it. There used to be a show on Maryland public T.V. hosted by John Shields called Chesapeake Cooking or Chesapeake Kitchen or something like that. He has a cookbook that features Maryland Fried Chicken and explains its history. I'd be shocked if it is different than what I discussed above.

quote:

Originally posted by haslup13

Nonetheless, you can't just pour gravy on some popeyes and call it Maryland Fried Chicken.

no, but you could call that tasty...and don't call me to the table last if popeye's with pepper gravy is what's for supper


welcome to roadfood haslup

As someone who's lived in Maryland for give or take 20 years, raised as a child of Montgomery County, I can honestly say that this is the first time I've even heard the term "Maryland Fried Chicken." I know nothing about it, and at the risk of starting an argument, I've never considered the state famous for its fried chicken a la Kentucky or other southern states. I may have had "Maryland" fried chicken at a festival or something without knowing it... but if that's the case, it was no different than regular fried chicken (gravy or no gravy).

Urban S: My one and only experience with Maryland fried chicken was, if memory serves, on a cold January afternoon when we were traveling , probably, The Blue Star Highway from Baltimore to New York a day or two after the Lyndon Johnson inauguaration in 1965. We stopped at a big busy place along the highway not far from Baltimore and ate a sumptious lunch of Maryland fried chicken - a chicken fricasse with creamy peppery sauce.

We have searched in vain for another source of that particular dish every time we pass thru Maryland, so I'm not surprised that you, living in Maryland for years, have never seen the dish.

My mother, long deceased, used to make a very similar dish and she , I'm sure, never heard of Maryland fried chicken either.

BTW: Every time we drive past that huge noisesome gas station in the median on I-95 not far west of Wilmington I try to convince myself that that was the place where we enjoyed the chicken so many years ago. Was that place there in 1965?

Cheers, John

Well, I'm also a life-long Marylander, and Maryland fried chicken has always been battered with egg. That is how my mom, her mom and her mom made it. Now, that being said, I've seen recipes with and without egg. I've also seen recipes with and with out the gravy.

Perhaps Maryland fried chicken is like many other regional recipes in that there are numerous ways to make the dish. After all some say a philly cheesesteak must have cheese whiz and other say provolone. Now, why anyone would want cheese whiz over provolone is a mystery to me, but I can still accept that the steak "wit" whiz is still a cheesesteak.

There is a place in Easton and Bethlehem, PA that has Maryland Fried CHicken. If you are from this area I am sure you kow about it. It is still not better then Flynn's in Pburg but if your in this region there is a good spot to try Marlyland fried chicken if you are interested.

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by eatingteam
There is a place in Easton and Bethlehem, PA that has Maryland Fried CHicken. If you are from this area I am sure you kow about it. It is still not better then Flynn's in Pburg but if your in this region there is a good spot to try Marlyland fried chicken if you are interested.

Tony

Where/what is "Flynn's in Pburg"? I did a quick search on Flynn's but came up with no food palce.

Thanks,

Kevin

Flynn's is actually a hall where they cater events. In this area, in Phillipsburg, NJ, it is widley known by locals of the legendary status of their fried chicken. It lives up to its status of great fried chicken. Not sure if it is Maryland fried, but man is it good!

In the 1950s, Maryland Fried Chicken was a standard item on the menu
of US Army mess halls, and that is where I was first introduced to
it. When prepared correctly, this is one of the finest chicken dishes
in existence. That is saying something, considering that I come from
southwestern Louisiana where my mother and grandmother both knew how
to fry up a mess of chicken that would make ole Colonel Sanders cry.

The distinguishing feature of MFC as made the Army way was that it
was finished off in the oven. My folks never used that method to cook
chicken. I don't know if the chicken was fried first or not (I'd
imagine it was), but it was breaded and placed on large baking pans
which were then placed in an oven whence it came out golden brown and
emitting an unrefusable aroma. MFC was usually served with mashed
irish potatoes and cream gravy, but these were side dishes, not part
of the MFC recipe or in any way one of the dishes distinguishing
characteristics as some online writers alledge.

Before finding the discussion here, I googled MFC and found a large
variety of opinions as to what it is and how it's made. Thus far, the
only recipe that seems to come closest to the Army way is the one
used in Erma Rombauer's _The Joy of Cooking_, p. 468, which I bought
about 1973. She calls the dish Maryland Chicken. Chicken pieces are
breaded and browned in oil in a heavy skillet, then placed in a pan
and baked covered until steamed through. The drippings are used to
make the cream gravy.

LV Hayes

English's Family Restaurant
in Salisbury MD is the best you will find anywhere.

The old Baltimore & Ohio RR dining car menus featured Md Fried Chicken. I will try to find recipe in one of my books on RR dining car service and cuisine. With corn fritters.

Made this for the 1st time for tonights dinner. It was GOOD!

Chesapeake Chicken
SERVES 4
This recipe came to us from Chuckie's restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland, which locals considered to have the juiciest, most delectable fried chicken north of Kentucky. Their secret? Using Maryland seafood seasoning, of course.
1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 quart buttermilk
3 drops Tabasco
5 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
2 cups flour
Freshly ground black pepper
Frying oil
1. Arrange chicken in a shallow baking dish. Combine buttermilk, Tabasco, and 2 tbsp. Old Bay. Pour over chicken, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Sift together flour, remaining 3 tbsp. Old Bay, and pepper to taste into a large mixing bowl. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and dredge pieces in seasoned flour until well-coated.
3. Fill a large, deep skillet with oil to a depth of about 1". Heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Working in batches, add chicken and fry, turning often, until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes in all. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue to cook, turning several times, until tender, 15–20 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and drain on paper towels.

 

This is the way all my spouse's relatives in TN call their Sunday fried chicken. They start with a wonderful fried chicken done in a deep cast iron skillet, then make a peppery milk gravy from the fat and cracklings that's poured all over the chicken b4 serving. Sad to see such wonderful chicken drowned in the gravy.

Maryland Fried Chicken chain was started by a Greek guy in Orlando to capitalize on all the MD expats that moved down to Fl to work in the budding aerospace industry. IIRC the story correctly, he was taken aback by the lines of workers that would form at a local KFC and wait through their lunch hour to buy their chicken. He had the Broaster process at the time and independently developed his own marketing ploy by changing the name to Maryland and his herbs and spices topped KFC to 22 in his original recipe. They started an agressive expansion just b4 KFC started to build the company red and whites during the late 60's. Many of the company owned stores took over existing Golden Point hamburger joints and built air conditioned dining rooms. There was nothing Maryland about them as they were a totally Fl based company out to compete with KFC. They didn't last long once the red and whites went live. They developed a bad reputation for in-your-face portion control directly visible to the customers where they would even weigh out the french fries and wanted to sell you extra packets of condiments. Some local lawyer got a register tape of a sale that I think violated state laws about condiments and made a big deal of it. I believe they were active around here from about '68-'70. I figured they were history, but apparently the chain is still viable.