March is Fried Chicken Month at SoDel Concepts restaurants

There are cookbooks and Facebook pages devoted to it. It is the signature dish of several cuisines. And it’s the star of family dinners around the world.

Fried chicken month has returned to SoDel Concepts. All 12 restaurants are featuring the comfort food in creative ways. Thompson Island Brewing Company in Rehoboth Beach stuffs tacos with roast chicken and cheese, dredges the entire taco and deep-fries them to a golden crunch.

It’s fried chicken, and the many permutations of this quintessential comfort food will be on the menus of all 12 SoDel Concepts restaurants in March.

“Of all the promotions that we do, fried chicken month is a favorite – our guests and our chefs love it,” said Doug Ruley, vice president of culinary operations for the Rehoboth Beach-based hospitality group.

In part, that’s because Sussex County is a hub for broiler chicken production. But it’s also because fried chicken is a flexible ingredient.

“We have several different concepts, and fried chicken fits in well with all of them,” Ruley said. “We also give our chefs the freedom to experiment. Guests will spot some unexpected entrees on the menus.”

The dishes will change to let the chefs flex their culinary imaginations, but guests might find the following:

• Dorado-style fried chicken tacos at Thompson Island Brewing Company in Rehoboth Beach. The tacos are stuffed with slow-roasted chicken and cheese, dredged and dropped in the fryer. The crisp bites are served with a light sour cream, pickled onions and jalapenos.

House-made Southern Delaware fried chicken fingers with maple-mustard glaze are among the specials offered during SoDel Concepts’ Fried Chicken Month in March.

• Fried chicken cotoletta, similar to wiener schnitzel, with garlic sausage, cipolla piccola, peas and forest mushroom gravy at Lupo Italian Kitchen in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

• Fried chicken and eggroll bowl with sticky sauce, corn, soy-ginger cabbage, fried wontons, kimchi and togarashi at Catch 54 in Fenwick Island.

• House-made southern Delaware fried chicken fingers with maple-mustard glaze served with coleslaw and house-made pickles at NorthEast Seafood Kitchen in Ocean View.

• Sweet-and-spicy popcorn chicken fried rice featuring Carolina gold rice, pork belly, egg, edamame, carrots, and white onions at Matt’s Fish Camp in Bethany Beach. Chef Maggie finishes the dish with cilantro, sesame and soy.