(Brookville, Ind.) – Jerry Short wants to bring the world record for frying chicken back to the where it belongs – the United States.

Canoefest 2009 chicken contest winners Canoefest

The current record of 1,280 pounds is held by a chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Kuwait.

As part of the annual Canoefest on the Whitewater River in Brookville, Short has organized a world record attempt of one whole ton to take place Friday. The fryers will begin boiling at 10:00 a.m. at Brookville’s town park.

“This year we’re gonna fry about 2,700 pounds which will end up cooking down to just about a ton of chicken,” Short says, adding that the huge batch will include both white and dark meat.

Shorts says what better place to break the record than southeast Indiana, a part of the country famous for its chicken frying festivals and restaurants.

“We are absolutely the fried chicken capital of the universe. We have more than 38 restaurants on the Chicken Trail this year where you can go eat at various ma-and-pa chicken restaurants. You can’t find that in Kuwait, I guarantee you,” says Short.

Hear Eagle 99.3's interview with world record chicken fry organizer Jerry Short on our podcast webpage. 

Organizers anticipate the process of frying the birds to take about five hours.

The giant canoe where all the fried chicken will be piled and then weighed Canoefest

As it’s fried up, the chicken will be piled into a giant canoe donated by Osagian Canoes of Missouri and then weighed as Guinness Book of World Records officials look on.

All the chicken will have to be cooked using the same recipe.

“It’s real simple. Salt, pepper, and flour.  We have to stick to that and follow some guidelines submitted to Guinness,” Short says.

Short says a number of southeast Indiana restaurants have volunteered to help fry the chicken, but folks with their own deep fryers are welcome to chip in on the effort. Those interested should contact Jerry Short at (765) 309-8318 or Jim Suhre at (765) 647-4116.

“If you are a friend of the bird so to speak, we would like you down there at about 10:00 a.m.  We’ll turn out the first batch at about 12:00 p.m.,” says Short.

So what to do with one ton of fried chicken? Eat it, of course.

The chicken will be sold for $10 per whole chicken to benefit Canoefest.

LINKS:

Canoefest website  - http://canoefest.etczone.com/