Airline Chicken

You all know this, but Airline Chicken is a term I've not seen before and I had to ask the waiter what it was.

In a up-market restaurant run by chef Lisa Dahl whose recipe book is available at the restaurant for $40+ I found it a non-intuitive and unattractive name as surely the last thing a diner wants in an expensive restaurant is to have the dish associated with an airline meal.

(also had to ask about Marinara sauce, a seafood pasta sauce at home (Mariner's Sauce) but a tomato sauce here. The pasta was a new one to me as well

I didn't have to ask about the wine, Ridge Zinfandel

Very enjoyable meal, first rate service, live musicians... we're returning tonight

http://www.cucinarustica.com/

How was the chicken cooked?

https://www.facebook.com/TheLiberalVoic ... =3&theater

That isn't exactly a food post.

So apparently "airline chicken" refers to a skin-on chicken breast with the wing drumette still attached. Also known as "Statler chicken".

It's certainly not a name that I'd put on my menu if I were a restaurateur. IMO it's like "sliders"--a term that originally referred to the abominably bad hamburgers of the White Castle chain. "Slider" because they are so greasy. I always wince when I see "sliders" on the menu of an upscale reference.

-Paul W.

How was the chicken cooked?

https://www.facebook.com/TheLiberalVoic ... =3&theater

Jim!!! Nice to see you here.

Jim, it was braised.

The term used over the pond is 'Supreme': Chicken supreme or Supreme of Chicken

[Robin Garr]

... the abominably bad hamburgers of the White Castle chain. "Slider" because they are so greasy. I always wince when I see "sliders" on the menu of an upscale reference.

Blasphemer!

Actually, WC burgers are not greasy. They are steamed on a bed of sauteed onions with the buns on top of the burgers and onions, so the bun gets moist. That's why they "slide." It's not about grease.

... the abominably bad hamburgers of the White Castle chain. "Slider" because they are so greasy. I always wince when I see "sliders" on the menu of an upscale reference.

Blasphemer!

Actually, WC burgers are not greasy. They are steamed on a bed of sauteed onions with the buns on top of the burgers and onions, so the bun gets moist. That's why they "slide." It's not about grease.

And White Castles are one of the sublime treats of this world.

[Jenise]

That isn't exactly a food post.

I found it amusing!

[Jenise]

Jim, it was braised.

The term used over the pond is 'Supreme': Chicken supreme or Supreme of Chicken

Mmmm...not that I'm aware of. Used to be that the 'supreme' referred to what is now usually called a 'tender'. There's actually no commonly-used term, in restaurants or butcher shops, that refers to a chicken breast with partial wing attached. At least on the west coast, you almost never see it. A breast with the rib bones removed, meat flattened and wing still attached is occasionally referred to by the French name, poillard I think it is, but again, it's not in common use.

So apparently "airline chicken" refers to a skin-on chicken breast with the wing drumette still attached. Also known as "Statler chicken".

It's certainly not a name that I'd put on my menu if I were a restaurateur. IMO it's like "sliders"--a term that originally referred to the abominably bad hamburgers of the White Castle chain. "Slider" because they are so greasy. I always wince when I see "sliders" on the menu of an upscale reference.

-Paul W.

I never knew where the name sliders came from but then we don't have White Castle in CA.

I never knew where the name sliders came from but then we don't have White Castle in CA.

In all the years I lived in NY and went to White Castles I never heard them referred to as "sliders". I think it's a more recent term and refered to a small bite of food that "slid" down your throat.

Growing up in Connecticut in the 1970s, the two most common nicknames for White Castle hamburgers were "sliders" and "belly bombs".

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

Growing up in Connecticut in the 1970s, the two most common nicknames for White Castle hamburgers were "sliders" and "belly bombs".

You were on the very outer fringe of CastleLandia. It's really a Rust Belt and Border South phenomenon and was never nationwide. Around here, the affectionate name "sliders" has been around for decades. When we lived in NYC I would occasionally stop for a nostalgic slider at a Castle on 21st Street in Long Island City, Queens, not far north from the Queensboro Bridge. They were okay, but the burgers tasted funny, as if they used a different recipe. A couple of times I noticed the "chef" squirting ketchup onto the grill as the burgers cooked, which seemed pretty abominable.

Anyway. here's the current list of locations. The expansion into Tennessee and Missouri surprises me, and it may be recent, maybe connected with their relatively recent extension into metro suburbs from their traditional urban-center homes.

Illinois White Castle locations (80)
Indiana White Castle locations (84)
Kentucky White Castle locations (44)
Michigan White Castle locations (49)
Minnesota White Castle locations (28)
Missouri White Castle locations (42)
New Jersey White Castle locations (37)
New York White Castle locations (57)
Ohio White Castle locations (89)
Tennessee White Castle locations (13)
Wisconsin White Castle locations (2)

I mostly agree with Jenise but my understanding of "suprème" in French cuisine is something that is "all cleaned up." For example orange wedges that are completely free of peel, membrane, etc. are called "suprèmes" as well. One of the Julia Child MTAOFC dishes I have cooked most often is "Suprèmes de Volaille aux Champignons" -- clean skinless chicken breast cooked in a cream sauce with mushrooms. It's a wonderful dish but I haven't made it as much since finding out about my high cholesterol and having to work on my weight. Interestingly when I went to Houston for my 50th reunion at Rice we arrived for the first event, a luncheon on Friday for my class, the main course was Suprèmes de Volaille, nicely executed although served buffet style. Not as rich as mine/Julia's but still delicious.

Peter, I'm with you here. Never would I order something called airline chicken, what are they thinking.
I have never before heard this term. I, also, know this portion as a supreme, with the bone attached and quite clean. Haven't seen one in years.

At butchers and chicken shops (ie chicken butchers/poulterers) in South Australia the term is WOSO fillet. That stands for Wing On, Skin On.

Airline chicken? Where did they come up with the name? Chicken I've eaten on airlines is usually three or four postage-stamp sized blocks of chicken meat in whatever gravy they're offering.

[Jenise]

Airline chicken? Where did they come up with the name? Chicken I've eaten on airlines is usually three or four postage-stamp sized blocks of chicken meat in whatever gravy they're offering.

Don't forget the rubber texture!

Don't forget the rubber texture!

Yeah, that too.
In all honesty, I usually fly Qantas and their food isn't too bad, considering.

Airline chicken? Where did they come up with the name? Chicken I've eaten on airlines is usually three or four postage-stamp sized blocks of chicken meat in whatever gravy they're offering.

Your experience with airline food is recent, then. If you go back to the 1960s and 1970s, when there was still full meal service on the longer flights, Pan Am (and other carriers) would serve the "Statler cut" (or "hotel cut") chicken so often that it acquired a new nickname.

The interesting question is why the airline chefs liked it so much? I can't find anything authoritative on this. There are two guesses: (1) plates were small so the drumette made it look like a bigger portion, and/or (2) the breast would re-heat better with the intact joint left on.

Is that where the name came from?
Airline meals these days have to fit in such small, flat boxes, I doubt that anything that hasn't been chopped, minced, ground or pulverised would be suitable!

FWIW Wikipedia agrees with what I said about the term "Suprême" (although I was using the "accent grave" instead of a circumflex).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_(cookery)

Cleaned up orange slices, cleaned up chicken breast. With part of the wing it's a cutlet, côtelette de volaille.

I got my info from Julia Child mostly.