Barberton chicken
Encyclopedia
Fried chicken
Fried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior...
native to the city of Barberton
Barberton, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,899 people, 11,523 households, and 7,443 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,095.2 people per square mile . There were 12,163 housing units at an average density of 1,349.4 per square mile...
in Summit County
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. It is a distinctive style served in several restaurants in Barberton and nearby Norton
Norton, Ohio
Norton is a city in Summit and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 11,523 at the 2000 census.The Summit County portion of Norton is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion in Wayne County is part of the Wooster Micropolitan Statistical...
and increasingly in other surrounding communities. The style of chicken has given the town national recognition, with some proclaiming Barberton to be the "Chicken Capital of the World" or the "Fried Chicken Capital of America."
History
Barberton chicken began with Milchael and Smilka Topalsky, immigrants from SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Like many during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, they became burdened with debt and were forced to sell their family farm. They opened a restaurant called Belgrade Gardens in 1933 in which they sold a distinctive style of fried chicken, along with a vinegar-based cole slaw, a rice and tomato sauce side dish seasoned with hot peppers; Usually referred to as "Hot Sauce" (can also be eaten as a dipping sauce vs a side dish), and freshly cut french fries. Barberton lore holds that these were exact replicas of what the Topalskys had known back in Serbia as pahovana piletina, kupus salata, djuvece and pomfrit. Although it may be doubtful to some that such exact replicas of Old World dishes could really be produced with New World ingredients, pomfrit is obviously a homonymic variant of pommes frites (the French term for french fries) and Barberton chicken itself resembles the classic Viennese fried chicken dish Wiener Backhendl -- not surprisingly, considering Serbia was once a part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
.
Soon other restaurants emerged which copied the distinctive style. Helen DeVore, who had worked for Belgrade Gardens, opened up Hopocan Gardens in 1946. White House Chicken Dinners was founded in 1950 by the Pavkov family, but came under DeVore ownership quickly. The Milich family opened Milich's Village Inn, in 1955. Other restaurants have come and gone in the area, but only the original four are still in operation.
Note that the article referenced below, while getting the ideas of the chicken correct, errs greatly in the history of the chicken houses. Hopocan Gardens, as founded by Helen DeVore and her husband (who was a barber at the time), was given in part to the Milich family to manage. When Bob DeVore (current owner) came back from the armed forces, he took control of the restaurant. The Milich family then opened Milich's Village Inn a couple of streets away.
While Hopocan Gardens is still currently owned by Bob DeVore (son of Helen), it is now managed by his step son, Brian Canale, who also owns and manages the original White House Chicken and licenses its franchises.
Today, the four chicken houses serve over seven and a half tons of chicken per week. The chicken has become so popular that it is often shipped around the United States, usually to transplanted Ohioans. White House Chicken has recently expanded into several locations in northeastern Ohio, dropping the traditional sit-down style in favor of a fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
model.
In August 2010, the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
recorded a segment of the show Food Feuds
Food Feuds
Food Feuds is a weekly series hosted by Iron Chef Michael Symon that premiered on Food Network October 10, 2010. The show features food rivalries or "feuds" between local restaurants in cities around the United States.-Synopsis:...
in Barberton. In that segment, scheduled to air Nov. 4, Iron Chef Michael Symon
Michael Symon
Michael D. Symon is a James Beard Foundation Award-winning American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as Iron Chef America, Food Feuds, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, as well as Cook Like an Iron Chef on the Cooking Channel...
declared Belgrade Gardens the winner over White House.
Tenets
The basic tenets of Barberton chicken are simple, yet strictly adhered to by the competing restaurants. They are as follows:- "True" Barberton chicken is fresh, never frozen.
- Neither the chicken nor the breadingBreadingBreading is a dry grain-derived food coating for a piece of food such as meat, vegetable, poultry, fish, shellfish, crustacean, seitan, or textured soy, made from breadcrumbs or a breading mixture with seasonings. Breading can also refer to the process of applying a bread-like coating to a food...
is seasoned with anything. - The birds are fried in lardLardLard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
. This gives the chicken a uniformly brown crust that is crisp, yet slightly chewy, while the meat is very juicy. This has also given Barberton chicken a reputation for being particularly unhealthy. - The cut of the bird is different than usual. Birds are cut into many pieces, including breasts, thighs, legs, wings, drummets and backs. This is probably rooted in the Great Depression, when creating the most pieces per chicken without yielding any waste was necessary. The backs actually yield little meat, and are sometimes marketed as "chicken ribs" for their passing resemblance to beef or pork ribsRibs (food)Ribs of beef, lamb, venison, and pork are a cut of meat. The term ribs usually refers to the less meaty part of the chops, often cooked as a slab .They can be roasted, grilled, baked, braised, or smoked....
.