TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep frying chicken in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary spices to the dish andmakingtheir own presentationof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a typical staple. They also found out that it transported well inhotconditions before refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the southern state's most suitable choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 called “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the local folks would eat fricassee of hen which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he actually 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 deep-fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most famous cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her formula 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 US Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Joint 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 the yolks of two eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good 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 plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a superior gravy. Nowadays, 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 food has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
