TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying poultry in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some additional seasoning to the food andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later became thefood preparersin many a Southern American family where deep-fried chicken became a universal staple. They also learned that it transported well inwarmclimatic conditions in the times before refrigeration was seen everyday so was enjoyed on almost a daily basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor. Since, it has become the southern state's best choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a man known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at dinner the local people would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most renowned culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of cooking 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 England and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
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 the yolks of two eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and serve them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a good gravy. Now, 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 process has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
