TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying poultry in fat and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary spices to the dish andgeneratingtheir own presentationof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later became thefood preparersin many a Southern American house where crispy deep-fried chicken became a universal staple.
They also found out that it lasted well well inhottemperatures prior to refrigeration was prevalent so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the south's top choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male called James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the locals 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 crispy deep-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 mix for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most well-known cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her food had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original food...
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 very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and serve them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a good quality gravy. Presently, we have exchanged 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 dish has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
