Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy
Chicken seasoned with dry mustard and garlic, dredged, browned in a covered pot so it steams as it fries, finished with Old Bay and served with a peppery cream gravy made from the drippings.
Maryland's fried chicken is defined by two habits: covering the pan after the chicken browns, so it steams as well as fries, and a white cream gravy made from the pan drippings (Wikipedia, citing John Shields's "Chesapeake Bay Cooking" and "The Joy of Cooking":). Maryland food historian Kara Mae Harris found "Fried Chicken Maryland Style" printed in the Midland Journal of Rising Sun, Maryland, in 1885, with a dusting of flour and cream gravy, and found that Virginia-born writer Marion Harland called the name "a palpable misnomer" in a 1909 newspaper column, suggesting it was really Virginia fried chicken with cream gravy (Old Line Plate, updated April 5, 2026:). Preservation Maryland dates the first recorded recipe to 1886 and says the dish became famous across the US after Auguste Escoffier included it in his cookbook "Ma Cuisine" in 1934. Abroad the name drifted: in Australia "chicken Maryland" can mean a butcher's leg cut, and in the UK and Argentina it means breaded chicken with banana or corn fritters (Wikipedia).
🇺🇸 This one is American
Chicken seasoned with dry mustard and garlic, dredged, browned in a covered pot so it steams as it fries, finished with Old Bay and served with a peppery cream gravy made from the drippings.
🇺🇸 The original
The oldest American printed recipe we found, from 1824, dusts cut-up chicken in flour, salts it and fries it in lard, served with a parsley gravy. No buttermilk soak and no spicy crust. See the 1824 Virginia Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy (Mary Randolph) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Cover, then uncover
The lid traps steam during the first 10 minutes so the thick pieces cook through faster and stay moist; taking it off lets the crust dry out and crisp.
Baking powder in the dredge
It releases tiny bubbles as the coating fries, so a single coat turns light and crunchy instead of dense (ATK).
Step by step
- Step 1
Pat the chicken dry. Mix the dry mustard, garlic powder and salt and sprinkle it evenly over the chicken. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a shallow dish and dredge each piece, shaking off the excess.
- Step 2
Refrigerate the coated chicken on a plate 30 minutes (up to 2 hours) so the coating sets. Heat the oven to 200°F.
- Step 3
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high to 375°F. Add half the chicken skin side down, cover and fry about 5 minutes, until well browned; turn, cover again and fry about 5 minutes more.
- Step 4
Uncover, lower the heat to medium and hold the oil between 300°F and 325°F. Fry, turning as needed, about 5 minutes more, until the breasts read 165°F and the dark meat 175°F. Add a few minutes if they are not there yet.
- Step 5
Move the chicken to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with Old Bay and keep warm in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375°F and fry the second batch the same way.
- Step 6
For the gravy, carefully pour off all but 1/4 cup of the fat. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat about 2 minutes, until golden.
- Step 7
Slowly whisk in the broth, cream and pepper and simmer about 5 minutes, until thickened. Season with salt and serve over or beside the chicken.
Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy
Serves 6 · about 10 pieces plus 3 cups gravy · 1 hr 30 min total
Chicken
- 4 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (breasts halved crosswise, leg quarters split into thighs and drumsticks)
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 cups peanut oil or vegetable shortening
- Old Bay seasoning, for sprinkling
Cream gravy
- 1/4 cup fat from the pot
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Salt to taste
Method
- Pat the chicken dry. Mix the dry mustard, garlic powder and salt and sprinkle it evenly over the chicken. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a shallow dish and dredge each piece, shaking off the excess.
- Refrigerate the coated chicken on a plate 30 minutes (up to 2 hours) so the coating sets. Heat the oven to 200°F.
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high to 375°F. Add half the chicken skin side down, cover and fry about 5 minutes, until well browned; turn, cover again and fry about 5 minutes more.
- Uncover, lower the heat to medium and hold the oil between 300°F and 325°F. Fry, turning as needed, about 5 minutes more, until the breasts read 165°F and the dark meat 175°F. Add a few minutes if they are not there yet.
- Move the chicken to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with Old Bay and keep warm in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375°F and fry the second batch the same way.
- For the gravy, carefully pour off all but 1/4 cup of the fat. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat about 2 minutes, until golden.
- Slowly whisk in the broth, cream and pepper and simmer about 5 minutes, until thickened. Season with salt and serve over or beside the chicken.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy" (November 7, 2011), as written (ATK says it serves 4 to 6; we call it 6). ATK fries in a Dutch oven rather than a skillet; the covered first stage is the Maryland step. We cook breasts to 165°F (USDA FSIS) instead of ATK's 160°F. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- A splatter screen helps when you lift the lid; condensed steam drips back into the hot oil.
- Old Bay goes on after frying, so its flavor stays bright.
- For the old-fashioned garnish, serve sautéed banana halves alongside (see Rules).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Cover the pan so the chicken steams. Disputed: Wikipedia and Adrian Miller's "Soul Food" (as quoted by Old Line Plate) call it the Maryland method; Old Line Plate says it appears in many Maryland recipes but is "far from synonymous" with the dish.
- Cream gravy is essential. Disputed: Wikipedia calls it a Maryland characteristic; Old Line Plate quotes F. F. Beirne's 1951 "The Amiable Baltimoreans", where some old Baltimore families insisted cream gravy was no part of true chicken à la Maryland.
- First recipe in 1885 or 1886. Disputed: Old Line Plate found an 1885 Rising Sun recipe; Preservation Maryland says 1886.
- Escoffier made it famous in 1934. Disputed: Preservation Maryland says so; we did not see the book, and Wikipedia cites only a 1978 English edition of "Ma Cuisine".
- Bananas on the side. Folklore: Wikipedia says bananas are a traditional garnish tied to Baltimore's banana imports, but the early Maryland recipes Old Line Plate describes do not require them.
- It was on the Titanic's menu. Disputed: Wikipedia says chicken à la Maryland was served the day the ship struck the iceberg, citing BBC Travel (2023); we did not check the menu itself.
- "Maryland fried chicken is really Virginia fried chicken." Documented as Marion Harland's 1909 opinion (Old Line Plate), not as history.
Every other fried chicken
1824 Virginia Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy (Mary Randolph)
The oldest American printed fried chicken recipe we found: chicken dredged in flour and salt, fried light brown in lard, with fried parsley and a simple butter and milk gravy poured over the top.
Southern Pan-Fried Buttermilk Chicken
Chicken brined in salt water, soaked overnight in buttermilk, dredged in flour and cornstarch, and pan-fried in a skillet of lard and butter flavored with country ham, the Edna Lewis way.
Nashville Hot Chicken
Brined, double-dredged fried chicken brushed with a fiery cayenne oil and served the Nashville way, on slices of white bread with pickle chips.
Korean Yangnyeom Chicken (Double-Fried Sweet and Spicy Wings)
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Japanese Chicken Karaage
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