…the genesis of Major Dave’s Chicken is part truth & part exaggeration.
My father, David Caldwell, started making fried chicken for friends and family before I was born. Made with a family recipe in small batches in our kitchen, my father’s chicken was so popular he would often cook over an entire weekend to make enough for everyone in the neighborhood.
Like all great artists, my father loved experimenting, and as time went on his recipe evolved. Dad usually enjoyed a few cold beers while cooking, making the recipe something of an enigma. A little salt here, a different mix of spices there. My father made chicken the way musicians play jazz, with equal parts improvisation and skill.
My father made chicken the way musicians play jazz, with equal parts improvisation and skill.
Mom usually got the first piece out of the fryer and, if she didn’t declare it perfect, Dad would adjust the spices until she did. Then he would continue to cook all day and into the next, putting the chicken that wasn’t immediately gobbled up into the refrigerator.
This was where I came in.
Growing up in Arizona, there was nothing I liked more than cold fried chicken. My brother, my sister, and I would often eat it for breakfast or as an after school snack. Dad made enough of it that we would eat it for days and, unlike other fast food fried chicken, it stayed crispy and delicious in the refrigerator.
Eventually we kids grew up and moved away. I joined the Marine Corps, traveled the world, and started my own family. We didn’t often get together back home, but when we did fried chicken was the meal of choice. Just like when we were kids, it was made from scratch by my father with a cold beer in his hand and a recipe that existed only in his head. It was always tasty and always crispy.
After a final overseas deployment with the Marines, I decided to open a business with my dad, putting his recipe at the center. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of experimentation required to replicate what my father had been creating for a lifetime. But in the end we had it – the perfect fried chicken.
We used only the best quality chicken—ethically raised without added hormones, antibiotics, or GMO feeds, and never frozen. We used the same time-consuming preparation process Dad used, which made our chicken the perfect blend of salty and juicy. We made it in small batches just like he had. And, of course, we had a few cold beers while we cooked, because we’re pretty sure that’s part of the process somehow.
Now we’re ready to share our chicken with you.
We believe Major Dave’s Chicken is the best tasting, highest quality fried chicken you can buy. Together with one or more of our great tasting, made-from-scratch side dishes, we hope you’ll enjoy it with your family as we have spent a lifetime enjoying it with ours.
Hot or cold, Major Dave’s Chicken is always tasty, always crispy!