Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying poultry in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often labor, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some new seasoning to the formula andmakingtheir own versionof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thecooksin many a Southern American family where crispy fried chicken became a typical staple. They also discovered that it journeyed well inhotweather in the times before refrigeration was prevalent so was consumed on almost every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the south's best choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his journal he noted that at dinner the local folks would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “crispy deep-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 fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most famous culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her recipe had a strange name known as “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 procedure...
Cut two chickens into quarters; lay 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 yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and lay them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a excellent gravy. In the present day, 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 food has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
