Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep-frying chicken pieces in lard and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often labor, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some extra seasoning to the process andcreatingtheir own presentationof fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thecaterersin many a Southern American house where crispy fried chicken became a regular staple. They also learned that it travelled well inhotweather conditions prior to refrigeration was everyday so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor. Since, it has become the south's top choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his record he noted that at dinner the local folks would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”. What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known procedure for deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most celebrated cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
Cut 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 eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good quality deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and arrange them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a fine gravy. In the present day, we have swapped out the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which has 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 mix has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
