TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying chicken in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The migrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some new seasonings to the process andproducingtheir own interpretationof crispy fried chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thechefsin many a Southern American family where deep-fried chicken became a prevalent staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his record he noted that at meals the local people would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in reality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it travelled well inhotclimatic conditions in the times before refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the south's best choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known process for fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most famed cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her food had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original food...
Joint two chickens into quarters; 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 the yolks of two eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin 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 golden incolour and lay them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a fine gravy. These days, we have substituted 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 recipe has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
