TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying chicken pieces in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The migrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some extra seasonings to the food andmakingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken. These Africans later went on to become thefood preparersin many a Southern American family where crispy deep-fried chicken became a ordinary staple.
They also discovered that it transported well inwarmtemperatures prior to refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the region’s preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male called James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his log he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he really heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known procedure for crispy fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most well-known cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a success in the United kingdom and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
Joint 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 2 eeg yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and arrange them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a first-class gravy. In the present day, we have exchanged 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.
