Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in fat and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often labor, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasonings to the recipe andmakingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thecaterersin many a Southern American family where deep-fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a male known as James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 named “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at meals the local people would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he really 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 that it travelled well inwarmclimate prior to refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the south's best optionfor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most famed cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as 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 US Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
Cut 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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and serve them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a first-rate gravy. Now, 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 formula has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
