OK....debate time! I thought this was discussed before, but I couldn't find it using the search feature on cheftalk. So here goes: What is your definition of fried chicken?
Let me explain: I was once told by an experienced chef that fried chicken MUST be coated in a breading (e.g. bread crumbs, panko, crackers, etc.) to be considered "fried chicken."
I pointed out that I had always made my fried chicken with a flour dredge, egg dipped, then flour coated. She said that what I was making was not fried chicken. So I asked, well then what would it be called? She responded, that it would be called "Chicken Fried Chicken."
This answer would have sounded ludicrous to me if I hadn't seen "Chicken Fried Chicken" on restaurant menus previously (although I cannot recall how those dishes were prepared.) At the time, I just thought that these restaurants were being cute with their entree names. But with this explanation from my chef, I started to see "Chicken Fried Chicken" as a legitimate food item. However, I am still unconvinced.
Generally, if a person makes chicken fried steak or other chicken fried item, the steak is dredged, egg dipped, then flour coated (or some other variation where flour is the coating, not bread crumbs.) But its name "CHICKEN FRIED steak" leads to the conclusion that when chicken is fried, it is fried in this manner. Right?
My opinion is that it is a technicality...kinda like "Turkey Wraps" are really turkey burritos. Or how a Chevy Blazer is really a GMC Jimmy. Or maybe more accurately, a TransAm is a Camero...different enough to be noticeable, but generally the same thing.
Yet, my chef was so certain of her position that it has lingered in my mind ever since. So what are your thoughts? Does fried chicken HAVE TO BE breaded to truly be fried chicken? Is "chicken frying" an item really a sham since fried chicken is NOT flour coated but bread coated? Would "fried steak" be more accurate....or would it then need to be coated in bread crumbs to be "fried steak?" :crazy:
This really is a semantics discussion, and of really little value....but I thought it would be interesting to see other people's takes on the subject. In our family, however, we prefer the flour coating to the bread crumbs....but after working with this chef, I will admit that bread crumbed chicken has become equally represented at our dinner table.
Let me explain: I was once told by an experienced chef that fried chicken MUST be coated in a breading (e.g. bread crumbs, panko, crackers, etc.) to be considered "fried chicken."
I pointed out that I had always made my fried chicken with a flour dredge, egg dipped, then flour coated. She said that what I was making was not fried chicken. So I asked, well then what would it be called? She responded, that it would be called "Chicken Fried Chicken."
This answer would have sounded ludicrous to me if I hadn't seen "Chicken Fried Chicken" on restaurant menus previously (although I cannot recall how those dishes were prepared.) At the time, I just thought that these restaurants were being cute with their entree names. But with this explanation from my chef, I started to see "Chicken Fried Chicken" as a legitimate food item. However, I am still unconvinced.
Generally, if a person makes chicken fried steak or other chicken fried item, the steak is dredged, egg dipped, then flour coated (or some other variation where flour is the coating, not bread crumbs.) But its name "CHICKEN FRIED steak" leads to the conclusion that when chicken is fried, it is fried in this manner. Right?
My opinion is that it is a technicality...kinda like "Turkey Wraps" are really turkey burritos. Or how a Chevy Blazer is really a GMC Jimmy. Or maybe more accurately, a TransAm is a Camero...different enough to be noticeable, but generally the same thing.
Yet, my chef was so certain of her position that it has lingered in my mind ever since. So what are your thoughts? Does fried chicken HAVE TO BE breaded to truly be fried chicken? Is "chicken frying" an item really a sham since fried chicken is NOT flour coated but bread coated? Would "fried steak" be more accurate....or would it then need to be coated in bread crumbs to be "fried steak?" :crazy:
This really is a semantics discussion, and of really little value....but I thought it would be interesting to see other people's takes on the subject. In our family, however, we prefer the flour coating to the bread crumbs....but after working with this chef, I will admit that bread crumbed chicken has become equally represented at our dinner table.
