Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Us had a custom 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 supplementary seasonings to the formula andbuildingtheir own interpretationof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American house where crispy fried chicken became a ordinary staple.
This is said to have come from a man named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at dinner the local people would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it travelled well inhotconditions before refrigeration was commonplace so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the southern state's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most prominent cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Her mix had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original food...
Joint two chickens into pieces; 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 yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and lay them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a first-class 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 recipe has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
