TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep-frying poultry in fat and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The migrants from Scotland would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary seasoning to the recipe andbuildingtheir own interpretationof crispy deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thefood preparersin many a Southern American household where fried chicken became a typical staple.
This is said to have come from a chap known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his journal he noted that at dinner the local folks would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it transported well inwarmclimate in the times before refrigeration was seen everyday so was enjoyed on almost a daily 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 fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most notable culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Her procedure had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
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 2 eeg yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good quality deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and place them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a first-class gravy. Presently, we have exchanged 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 process has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
