Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in lard and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary seasonings to the food andproducingtheir own presentationof crispy fried chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thefood preparersin many a Southern American home where fried chicken became a prevalent staple.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his journal he noted that at dinner the local people would eat fricassee of hen which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in fact 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 journeyed well inhotconditions prior to refrigeration was seen everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the south's best optionfor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known process for deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most eminent culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Her food had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
Joint two chickens into pieces; 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 2 eeg yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a high-quality deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and lay them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a superior gravy. In the present day, we have changed the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which features 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 formula has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
