Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in lard and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The migrants from Scotland would often work, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some other spices to the food andbuildingtheir own interpretationof crispy fried chicken. These Africans later became thecooksin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a frequent staple. They also discovered that it lasted well well inhotconditions before refrigeration was seen everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the southern state's go-tofor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy called James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 named “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at meals the locals would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actual 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 fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known process for deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most notable cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her dish had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Joint 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 eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together 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 light golden incolour and lay them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a high-quality gravy. Today, we have substituted 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 went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
