Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep frying poultry in lard and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary seasonings to the recipe andbuildingtheir own versionof crispy fried chicken. These Africans later became thechefsin many a Southern American household where fried chicken became a common staple.
They also discovered that it journeyed well inhotclimatic conditions before refrigeration was seen everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the region’s best choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy known as James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 called “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his journal he noted that at mealtime the local people would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “crispy fried chicken or something like that”. What he really 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 mix for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most prominent cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the American 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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a excellent deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and place them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a good gravy. These days, we have replaced 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 recipe has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
