TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Us had a custom of deep-frying chicken in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some extra spices to the dish andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American family where fried chicken became a common staple. They also discovered that it transported well inwarmclimate in the times before refrigeration was everyday so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the region’s go-tofor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy called James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his record he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”. What he in reality 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 food for fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most celebrated cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named 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 formula...
Joint 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 yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a high-quality deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and lay them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a first-class gravy. Now, we have changed the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which has 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.
