Forget Fried Chicken: This Midwest Staple Is 10X Juicier

It's impossible to leave a Midwest dining table with an empty stomach. From Chicago deep-dish pizza and Cincinnati chili to hearty casseroles, there are countless tasty food options to choose from. It's not much of a surprise that the Midwest is also home to some of the country's best chicken. Once you try Midwestern broasted chicken, every other fried chicken style might just become a thing of the past.

Broasted chicken stands out from other styles of fried chicken around the globe because of how it's prepared: inside a specialized pressure cooker, called a pressure fryer. After a quick marinade and a dredge through seasoned flour, the chicken is placed in this custom-made pressure cooker filled with about four inches of cooking oil and heated up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. It's then then pressure-fried in batches for about 5 to 7 minutes with the lid closed. Once done, the pressure cooker is depressurized, and the chicken is removed, drained of any excess oil, and served.

It is crucial to know that this is not a cooking technique to attempt at home with an ordinary pressure cooker — broasted chicken should only be enjoyed at restaurants with specialized equipment. Because a pressure cooker cooks food by trapping steam, increasing pressure within the sealed pot, it is extremely dangerous to place cooking oil inside this closed environment. 

However, when made at restaurants with proper equipment, broasted meat can retain more moisture rather than drying out, as frequently occurs with open-faced frying methods. Naturally, the meat turns out much juicier and more tender, while the exterior still dehydrates towards the end of cooking, and the chicken still develops that signature crunchy crust — albeit lighter, thinner, and much less greasy since there isn't too much oil seeping in from the outside.

Broasted chicken is proof that there are some foods the Midwest simply does best. Its origin story began in Wisconsin in the early 1950s, when pressure cooker inventor and Broaster Company founder L.A.M. Phelan created the appliance as a quicker way to fry crispy, juicy chicken. And so came the birth of broasted chicken (otherwise known as the trademarked Genuine Broasted Chicken), prepared with the company's original pressure fryer.

It wasn't long before the dish started popping up at various Wisconsin establishments, eventually becoming one of the region's delicacies. Today, broasted chicken remains a beloved staple in Midwestern supper clubs, old-school bars, and rustic diners. Its popularity has even spread beyond the region — even reaching beyond the United States.

One country that has particularly embraced broasted chicken is Pakistan, where the term is often used more loosely and sometimes interchangeably with regular fried chicken. Still, you can occasionally find the country's version of broasted chicken in street carts and restaurants, fitting right in amongst many other traditional Pakistani dishes. While still pressure-fried, it takes on the fragrant complexity of desi spices and is often accompanied by Middle Eastern delicacies such as chutney and raita. If you're curious to try it for yourself, you may even find Pakistani-style broasted chicken on the menu of local Pakistani restaurants throughout the Midwest.