Lifestyles: Let's celebrate two national culinary favorites today

I could spend hours getting lost and scrolling the National Day Calendar. For those of you that are unaware, the National Day Calendar is a very unique calendar that marks the daily national days of celebration for almost any and everything.

It is astonishing to see just how many days are reserved to commemorate such items as National Apple Turnover Day or National Bikini Day, which are both on July 05. Today is a very special day for foodies on the National Day Calendar because we celebrate two of my all time favorite foods.

Today is both National Hand Roll Day and National Fried Chicken Day, so let the trumpet fanfare begin!

National Hand Roll Day recognizes this very classic and delicious sushi roll. For sushi fanatics, like myself, this culinary pleasure definitely deserves its own day. The hand roll was introduced to America by a modern sushi master named Chef Nozawa. A hand roll is a type of sushi that is formed by hand into a cylinder shaped roll using nori, then it is filled with rice, fish or vegetables. A hand roll is usually enjoyed dipped in soy sauce and eaten fresh.

{Image: Clarence-Vernon Hargrave/Davidson Local} Celebrate National Hand Roll Day at your favorite sushi restaurant today.

If there is one food that deserves its own day, I will agree that it is fried chicken. Fried chicken is one of the top foods in the world and there is no question why. Crispy and crunchy food items are the top selling foods and are definitely my favorite food texture. Fried chicken is also considered a comfort food and is one of those dishes that always seems to satisfy. Dr. Maya Angelou said, "The best comfort food will always be greens, cornbread and fried chicken."

Growing up in the south, fried chicken has been a staple and there are numerous members of my family that are renowned for their own special ways of frying chicken, with the championship belt belonging to Aunt Ida. It was standing room only for Sunday dinner when my family knew that Aunt Ida would be showing up with her succulent and amazingly seasoned fried chicken breasts in tow. It was nothing for one of her nieces or nephews who all considered ourselves her favorite, to call ahead and reserve our a piece of fried chicken prior to dinner to ensure that we would be in the number. Aunt Ida would show up, as expected with a large tray, overflowing with the most picture perfect, golden brown fried chicken with each batch seemed to outdo the previous batch. She would also have an additional bag which contained her secret reserve of fried chicken which she privately distributed in small parcels of heavy duty aluminum foil, that was always too conspicuous to hide.

She would whisper separately to each of her self-proclaimed favorites, the location of their morsels or she would give directives as to where in the house to meet her for the pick up. These fried chicken drops held the same sophisticated synchronicity that you would expect to see in a scene from a Hollywood gangster movie.

These drops and pick ups left a feeling of accomplishment and also meant that you were going to be privileged to have two pieces of fried chicken that day. In addition, you were left with a silver trophy to guard with your life until you made it to your destination. After all, everyone did know what was in the distinctively wrapped bundle of Reynolds and they would welcome the opportunity for you to forget it. That too is the first time that I recall hearing the phrase, don’t get caught slipping.

I remember haggling Aunt Ida years later, before her passing to share her famous fried chicken recipe with me and she never would. She would just laugh and then always say, “I’ll fix you some.” I deliberately began to visit Aunt Ida when I knew she was frying chicken, not to necessarily pay a call to her so much as I was a voyeur, pretending to help, all the while observing and memorizing her every move. Moves which were consistent and quite regimented like seasoning cups of flour with salt and lots of ground black pepper in a large, double-layered brown grocery bag, then adding well cleaned, pieces of chicken to be shaken and coated. She never adjusted the temperature of her oil beyond the medium-high setting on the stove top and she never rushed or crowded the large black cast iron pan, making sure that the chicken did not touch while frying.

I would like to share with you my recipe for fried chicken. I adopted not much of her recipe but more of her way of frying chicken. A way that is very simple and filled with elements that make all of the difference.

{Image: Clarence-Vernon Hargrave/Davidson Local} Crispy fried chicken is an all time favorite.

Clarence’s Fried Chicken Recipe

Prep: 15 minutes 

Cook: 45 minutes 

Ingredients:

1 whole frying chicken, well cleaned and cut-up usually into 8 pieces

3 tablespoon (heaping) ground black pepper

3 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

2  cups all-purpose flour or self-rising flour

1 ½ cups cornstarch

2 ½  to 3 cups canola oil (canola oil amount depends on the skillet size and number of batches you will be frying)

You will also need:

Cooking rack (for draining any excess oil from the fried chicken)

Cookie sheet or large platter to put beneath cooling rack

Large zipper storage bag or a large bowl for the flour

Large cast iron or heavy pan or skillet  

Large cooking fork  or tongs

To cook:

Add the flour and the cornstarch to the large bag or bowl and add the salt, seasoned salt and pepper. Shake the bag or stir the flour in the bowl to distribute the seasoning into the flour mixture. Add the moist chicken to the flour mixture and generously coat the chicken with the mixture on both sides. Once coated, place the chicken on a plate to sit for 5 minutes, allowing the flour to be absorbed,  

In a large skillet, preferably cast iron or heavy metal, add canola oil so that it’s about 1 1/2-inch to 2 inches deep in the pan. Do not overfill the pan. Depending on the size of the skillet and or if frying the chicken in multiple batches, you may need to add more oil.

Heat the skillet on medium heat for three minutes, you will know to add the chicken after testing the flour by adding a pinch of flour to the pan. When the flour sizzles, carefully and slowly add the pieces of chicken to the skillet.

Make sure to leave a small space in between each piece of chicken so not to overcrowd the pan and lower the temperature of the oil. Depending on the size of the skillet, some of the chicken may need to be cooked in a second batch.

Allow the chicken to fry slowly for about 12 minutes before turning the chicken to the other side for browning. To turn the chicken, use a cooking fork or tongs to turn the chicken every ten minutes as it turns a golden brown color. If not using tongs, try to poke the fork into the outside edges of the skin when turning the chicken rather than in the middle of the meat, so the juices don’t run out of the chicken as it fries. When turning the chicken, a cooking fork tends to keep the crispy skin looking nicer than when using tongs. If the oil starts to bubble quickly or splatter out of the skillet, turn the heat down slightly. Do not rush the frying.

Also, keep a close eye on the chicken to see if it’s turning a dark brown color, rather than a golden color or cooking too quickly. If so, turn the heat down.

Let the chicken cook until all sides are a medium to dark golden color and the chicken is thoroughly cooked and white on the inside.

When the pieces of chicken are done cooking (about 30 to 40 minutes), transfer them from the skillet onto the cooking rack to cool before serving. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully dispose of any used oil after it has cooled.

Happy National Hand Roll and National Fried Chicken Day!

{Image: Clarence-Vernon Hargrave} Follow the recipe above to fry up a batch of fresh fried chicken in honor of National Fried Chicken Day.