Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat and even before 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 supplementary spices to the procedure andproducingtheir own versionof fried chicken. These Africans later went on to become thecaterersin many a Southern American family where crispy deep-fried chicken became a frequent staple. They also observed that it lasted well well inwarmtemperatures in the times before refrigeration was seen everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the southern state's go-tofor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a fellow called James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his journal he noted that at meals the local folks would eat fricassee of chicken 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 fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known dish for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured 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 procedure had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
Cut two chickens into quarters; marinate 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 well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a superior deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and arrange them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a fine gravy. Today, we have exchanged 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 process has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
