Chicken Fried in Deep Fat
Recipe No. 379 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.
Army TM10-412 · Chicken · Meat
Recipe No. 379 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.
Ingredients
- Chicken, New York dressed* — 80 pounds
- or — as needed
- Chicken, full drawn* — 60 pounds
- Flour, sifted — as needed
- Salt — 6 ounces (¼ mess kit cup)
- Pepper — ¾ ounce (3 mess kit spoons)
- Milk, evaporated — 2 — 14½-ounce cans
- Water (for milk) — 1 quart (1 No. 56 dipper)
- Eggs, slightly beaten — 20 eggs (1 No. 56 dipper)
- Bread crumbs, dry — as needed
- Fat (for frying) — as needed
Directions
Key ingredients
- Clean chicken; cut into suitable servings.
- Mix flour, salt, and pepper together; roll chicken in flour.
- Mix milk and water; add beaten egg and mix well. Dip floured chicken in milk and egg mixture; roll in bread crumbs.
- Fill frying basket with chicken leaving space between pieces. Lower chicken carefully into deep hot fat (350° F.). Fry 15 to 20 minutes after the temperature has dropped to 320° to 325° F.
- Place cooked pieces of chicken on paper in heated pans. Keep hot in slow oven (300° to 325° F.).
Notes
SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Chicken, New York dressed — 6 lb 6⅓ oz or — to taste Chicken, full drawn — 4 lb 12¾ oz Flour, sifted — to taste Salt — ½ oz Pepper — about ⅓ tsp Milk, evaporated — ½ can (14½ oz) Water (for milk) — 5 tbsp Eggs, slightly beaten — 1⅔ eggs Bread crumbs, dry — to taste Fat (for frying) — to taste
Broilers or fryers. Unless chicken is very tender and small, it is best to simmer it in water until tender (recipe No. 374). Drain and fry as in recipe above.
— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 379, Meat. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.