TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep-frying chicken pieces in lard and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasoning to the procedure andgeneratingtheir own presentationof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later went on to become thechefsin many a Southern American home where crispy deep-fried chicken became a regular staple.
They also found that it travelled well inhotclimate in the times before refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the region’s preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a fellow known as James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 called “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his log he noted that at an evening meal the local people would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actuality 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 deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known dish for fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most famous cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her food had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a success in the United kingdom and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Cut 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 yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and place them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a high-quality gravy. These days, we have changed 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 food has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
