Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep frying poultry in lard and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some other spices to the dish andcreatingtheir own presentationof crispy deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thecooksin many a Southern American home where crispy deep-fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow known as James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 called “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at meals the local folks would eat fricassee of chicken which he went on to say “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 found that it travelled well inwarmtemperatures before refrigeration was commonplace so was consumed on almost every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the region’s top choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most recognized culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her food had a strange name known as “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 procedure...
Cut two chickens into pieces; 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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-rate deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and arrange them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a first-class gravy. Now, we have replaced the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which has 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 formula has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
