Mrs. Ronie Venables made honorable-mention in the first annual “National Chicken Cooking Contest” at the Delmarva Chicken Festival in 1949. Were she able to prepare her fried chicken on a wood-burning stove, she told a Universal Press reporter, she could have beaten out Mrs. A.L. Karlik for first place. The Press reporter contrasted the two contestants by describing Karlik as “pretty [and] young,” and referring to Venables as a “70-year old farm woman.”
In that article, Venables shared her prize-winning recipe in vague terms: “A chicken, salt, pepper, egg, milk, flour and shortening. She stews the chicken, seasons it, dips it in a mixture of egg, milk and flour then fries it.”
She declared that “the secret… is in putting the water in which the chicken is stewed on the chicken after it is fried.”
For her part, Mrs. Karlik told the Wilmington, Delaware News-Journal that she was “flabbergasted” to have beat out the other 140 contestants. Family and friends had persuaded Karlik to enter the competition. She triumphed with “Broiled Chicken Deluxe,” a recipe that she frequently made for her husband and 10-year old son.
Wilmington News Journal, July 1949. Karlik is 2nd from right.
You might think that Karlik and Venables would walk off into the sunset, Karlik with her prize-money and deep-freezer, and Venables with a fun memory, but that isn’t exactly what happened. Cooking contests may seem blasé today, but the Delmarva Chicken Festival and the accompanying cooking contest were a big deal.
For Edna Karlik, the memory of her victory would resurface again and again.
“Through the years, Maryland whiskey has become almost as renowned as Maryland fried chicken.” – Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State, Writers’ Program of the Works Progress Administration, 1940
In July 1945, war correspondent Ollie Stewart wrote to the Afro American of the frenzied scene in Berlin as American soldiers had raided Hitler’s “medal room” for souvenirs while the Russians looked on, laughing. “We must have looked silly as hell,” the journalist remarked.
Stewart left Berlin for Paris, where he’d just missed a banquet for the leaders of the Red Cross. The seven-course feast was served by an all-black staff – a new and novel experience for the Frenchmen. Although Stewart was at a loss to recall the full menu, owing to “so much French in the darn thing,” one dish stood out as “the big noise”: “Poulet frit Maryland.”
According to Stewart, the dish set a new standard for Parisian chefs. Some of them asked him “where is this place, Maryland?” The Afro-American shared the anecdote under the headline: “Maryland Gains Fame.”
Of all of the forgotten Maryland recipes, Maryland Fried Chicken may be the most misunderstood. It may even be impossible to understand. Since its nebulous inception, there has been little agreement on just what constitutes “Maryland Fried Chicken,” also known as “Fried Chicken, Maryland Style,” or sometimes “Chicken a la Maryland.” See? There isn’t even agreement on what to call it.
“The disservice done the public by commercially fried chicken is perpetuating the fallacy that Southern fried, by definition, is crisp, crunchy, and deep fried. There is more to it than that, for there are other ways to fry a chicken.
So how does a Southerner fry chicken at home? He coats the disjointed chicken with seasoned flour and browns it in hot shortening or oil on both sides. Now for the decision: to crisp or not to crisp? With lid on and heat lowered, the chicken becomes meltingly tender, not the least bit crisp, and as Southern as any other. This can be carried a step further when the chicken is done, excess fat may be poured off, and a little water added. Lid on again for five minutes of steam, and there’s Southern fried fit for the gods.” – Southern Heritage Cookbook Library, “Plain & Fancy Poultry”
This week we will revisit Maryland Fried Chicken, briefly, to try out the dreaded “steaming” step.
First I will say that contrary to the above Southern Heritage quote, the steam step is far from conclusive.
I started to make a spreadsheet to track this. Here’s what I have so far:
I also cross-referenced my two favorite Virginia cooks, Mary Randolph (1824) and Edna Lewis (1976) and found them both serving their fried chicken with cream gravy.
According to The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink by John F. Mariani “The idea of making a sauce to go with fried chicken must have occurred early on, at least in Maryland, where such a match came to be known as “Maryland fried chicken.” By 1878 a dish by this name was listed on the menu of the Grand Union hotel in Saratoga, New York…“ (source) No mention of steaming.
This Serious Eats post explores the same subject, delving into whether to add that water to the pan, and coming to the conclusion “I don’t think [adding water is] a great idea, and I also don’t think it’s necessary: covering the pan for a portion of the frying traps more than enough of the steam generated by the chicken without pouring in additional water. I have a few theories about what this covering/steaming step accomplishes, the main one being that it helps the chicken cook more evenly despite its not being fully submerged in oil. “
Their final conclusion is: “Covering and steaming may seem antithetical to the goals of frying, but it’s pretty amazing how crispy the chicken ends up after the final minutes of cooking while uncovered.”
So its obvious that many Maryland cooks counted this step as a necessary part of their chicken cooking. I tried it and I found it tasty.. I mean it is fried chicken. It wasn’t as crispy but there was still a crispiness to the skin, and the meat was great. I think that tender fried chicken can be achieved without the water by attentive cooks and proper brining.
Recipe:
1 Cup flour
1 Teaspoon salt
.25 Teaspoon paprika
2.5 Lb cut up chicken, broiler-fryer
oil, vegetable
.25 Cup water
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Cup milk
Combine first three ingredients in a plastic or paper bag; shake to mix. Place two or three pieces of chicken in the bag; shake well. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken. Reserve two tablespoons of flour mixture for the gravy.
Heat ½ inch of oil in a large skillet to 325; add chicken. Cover, and cook 7 minutes. Turn chicken; cover, and cook an additiona 7 minutes. Reduce heat; drain off oil, reserving two tablespoons of oil and the chicken in skillet. Add water to skillet; cover and continue cooking over low heat 20 minutes or until tender. Drain chicken on paper towels; transfer to a warmed serving platter.
Add butter to pan drippings, and melt. Scrape sides of skillet with a wooden spoon to loosen browned crumbs. Gradually add reserved flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Serve gravy with chicken.
Adapted from “The Southern Heritage Plain and Fancy Poultry Cookbook,” 1983
I suppose my next step would be to try the side-by-side comparison. I may have exhausted all possible chicken talk so please follow the Old Line Place Facebook page or twitter if you want to be updated on how that goes – or try it yourself and tell me about it!
