TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Us 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 labor, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some more flavorings to the procedure andproducingtheir own presentationof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later became thechefsin many a Southern American household where fried chicken became a universal staple.
This is said to have come from a male called James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his journal he noted that at meals the locals would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he really heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also found out that it transported well inhotweather conditions prior to refrigeration was seen everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the southern state's go-tofor just about any occasion.
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 obscured in one of the most notable cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her procedure had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a success in the England and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original formula...
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 2 eeg yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and serve them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a good gravy. Nowadays, we have replaced 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 formula has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
