TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and dine with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasoning to the process andmakingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thefood preparersin many a Southern American home where crispy fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow named James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at dinner the local people would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “crispy fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in reality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also found out that it journeyed well inwarmweather prior to refrigeration was prevalent so was enjoyed on almost every day basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the south's best choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for crispy fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most eminent cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her recipe had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
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 yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a excellent deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and arrange them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a good gravy. These days, we have changed 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 food has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
