TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in fat and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasonings to the food andbuildingtheir own versionof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thecaterersin many a Southern American family where crispy deep-fried chicken became a common staple. They also observed that it journeyed well inhotweather conditions prior to refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the region’s top choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy known as James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the local people would eat fricassee of chicken which he went on to say “crispy fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actuality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most notable cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her food had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original food...
Cut two chickens into pieces; steep them in vinegar for 3-4 hours with pepper, salt, bay and a few cloves. Make a very thick batter first with ½ pint of wine and flour then 2 eeg yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and place them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a fine gravy. Presently, we have swapped out the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which contains nearly zero trans fats and we use a brine of buttermilk and salt to season our chicken throughout. It’s amazing to think how far this procedure has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
