TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying poultry in lard and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The immigrants from Scotland would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some extra seasoning to the food andproducingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thefood preparersin many a Southern American household where crispy deep-fried chicken became a common staple. They also found out that it transported well inwarmtemperatures before refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the region’s best choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy called James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at dinner the local folks would eat fricassee of chicken which he went on to say “crispy fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actual fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for crispy fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most celebrated cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her process had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original formula...
Joint two chickens into quarters; marinate 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 well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and arrange them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a good gravy. Today, we have substituted the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which features 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 mix has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
