Chicken Maryland

History and preparation

Many Maryland families have their own heirloom recipes for this dish, and it remains a regional specialty in Eastern Shore restaurants.

The primary factor that distinguishes Maryland fried chicken from other Southern fried chicken is that rather than cooking the chicken in several inches of oil or shortening, the chicken is pan-fried in a heavy (traditionally cast-iron) skillet and covered tightly after the initial browning so that the chicken steams as well as fries. Milk or cream is then added to the pan juices to create a white cream gravy, another Maryland characteristic.

Escoffier had a recipe for "Chicken à la Maryland" in his landmark cookbook Ma Cuisine, but there is no canonical version of the recipe. Often the chicken is marinated in a buttermilk marinade. Breading recipes vary in use of egg or buttermilk and the seasoning of the flour; the seasoning of the cream gravy also varies widely, although gravy is a signature aspect of the dish.

Australia

In Australia the term "Chicken Maryland" simply refers to a butcher's cut for a whole leg consisting of the thigh and drumstick.

UK

The dish known in the UK as Chicken Maryland, popular in the 1960s, consisted of fried chicken (often in breadcrumbs) served with sweetcorn fritters and fried bananas. It is likely that it was derived as an alternative for the American version of the dish.

In England, there is a small chain of stores known as Maryland Chicken, mostly found in Leicestershire. There is no connection between the store name and the traditional dish, however. Their menu consists of normal fried-chicken cuisine, similar to KFC.

Elsewhere

Other reported versions include: a fried chicken leg with ham and hush puppies (a batter made with flour, egg, oil, and milk or water, to which corn is added, then deep-fried); batter-fried chicken with hush-puppies and batter-fried bananas and pineapple rings; and bread-crumbed and fried chicken wings & drumsticks with sautéed bananas. Apparently some Southeast-Asian variations exist, such as one with breaded chicken thighs, hush puppies, and gravy, served with deep-fried potato slices, baby carrots, fried tomato halves, and fried bananas. In Argentina and in some neighboring South American countries, Suprema de Pollo Maryland is a pounded thin breast of chicken, breaded and fried, served with creamed corn, peas, bacon (panceta), French fries and a fried banana.

The final first-class lunch menu on RMS Titanic included a dish called "Chicken à la Maryland".

In the film Christmas in Connecticut, one of the survivors of a sinking gets Chicken Maryland as one of his meals in a hospital.

In the 1929 pre-code film, Sally, a restaurant patron orders Chicken a la Maryland

In China, Maryland Chicken is often served covered with mashed potatoes and a sweet corn gravy.