TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying chicken in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The immigrants from Scotland would often labor, live and dine with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasoning to the formula andproducingtheir own versionof crispy fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American family where crispy deep-fried chicken became a prevalent staple. They also observed that it journeyed well inwarmweather in the times before refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the region’s top choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a gentleman called James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 named “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at dinner the locals would eat fricassee of hen which he went on to say “crispy 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 recipe for fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most renowned cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her process had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
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 eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a high-quality deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and arrange them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a fine gravy. In the present day, we have changed 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 procedure has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
