TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep frying chicken in lard 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 more seasoning to the procedure andproducingtheir own interpretationof crispy fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thefood preparersin many a Southern American home where fried chicken became a typical staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his log he noted that at mealtime the locals would eat fricassee of hen which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also found out that it transported well inwarmconditions in the times before refrigeration was everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the south's best optionfor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most renowned cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
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 superior deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and serve them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a fine gravy. Presently, we have swapped out the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which features 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.
