When is National Fried Chicken Day?
National Fried Chicken Day 2027 is on Tuesday
Tuesday, July 6, 2027
July 6 every year. That's in 275 days.
until National Fried Chicken Day begins, in your time zone
National Fried Chicken Day is an informal US food holiday for one of the South's signature dishes, shaped largely by enslaved Black cooks and later by Black women entrepreneurs. Nobody knows who started the day.
About National Fried Chicken Day
National Fried Chicken Day celebrates crisp, seasoned fried chicken in all its forms, from buttermilk-brined Southern chicken and Nashville hot chicken to Korean double-fried wings. It has no official status, and its origin is a mystery: in 2012 an NPR news blog said it had searched and could not find out who declared the day. It has been widely marked on July 6 in US media since at least then.
The dish has a deeper history than the day. Smithsonian magazine notes that Mary Randolph's The Virginia House-Wife, an early and influential American cookbook from the 1820s, contains what is widely considered the first printed American recipe for fried chicken: pieces dredged in flour, salted and fried in hot lard until light brown.
Randolph wrote the recipe down, but the cooking tradition behind it is older. Food writers quoted by Smithsonian credit enslaved kitchen workers with perfecting Southern fried chicken, blending West African cooking techniques with the frying habits of Scottish settlers, who fried meat where the English were more likely to boil or bake it. In the 19th century, Black women in Gordonsville, Virginia, sold fried chicken, biscuits and pies through the windows of trains that stopped at the town's station, which earned it the nickname Fried Chicken Capital of the World.
Fried chicken has since become a staple far beyond the South, with distinct styles in places such as Korea and Japan, which makes the day a good excuse to try more than one tradition.
Sources: NPR: Hot Damn! It's National Fried Chicken Day (July 6, 2012), Smithsonian Magazine: The First Printed Fried Chicken Recipe in America (2017). How we check dates.
How to mark National Fried Chicken Day
- Fry chicken at home: brine it in seasoned buttermilk overnight, dredge in flour and fry in a heavy pan, checking that the thickest pieces reach a safe internal temperature.
- Try a different style, such as Nashville hot chicken, Korean fried chicken or Japanese karaage.
- Support a local soul food restaurant or family-owned chicken spot.
- Read about the Black women cooks of Gordonsville, Virginia, and others who shaped Southern food history.
- Make an oven-fried or air-fried version if deep-frying at home isn't practical.
National Fried Chicken Day dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Sunday, July 6, 2025 |
| 2026 | Monday, July 6, 2026 |
| 2027 | Tuesday, July 6, 2027 |
| 2028 | Thursday, July 6, 2028 |
| 2029 | Friday, July 6, 2029 |
| 2030 | Saturday, July 6, 2030 |
| 2031 | Sunday, July 6, 2031 |
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Frequently asked questions
When is National Fried Chicken Day 2027?
National Fried Chicken Day 2027 is on Tuesday, July 6, 2027. It falls on July 6 every year. In 2028, it is on Thursday, July 6, 2028.
Who started National Fried Chicken Day?
No one knows. NPR looked into it in 2012 and couldn't find who declared it, and no founding organization has been documented since.
What was the first American fried chicken recipe?
The first published American recipe is usually credited to Mary Randolph's cookbook The Virginia House-Wife, from the 1820s. The dish itself was developed earlier, largely by enslaved Black cooks in the South.
Is National Fried Chicken Day a public holiday?
No. National Fried Chicken Day is an observance, not a public holiday, so schools, banks, government offices and most businesses keep their normal hours.