TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in fat and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasonings to the formula anddevelopingtheir own versionof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later went on to become thechefsin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a typical staple. They also observed that it travelled well inhotclimate before refrigeration was prevalent so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the southern state's top choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a fellow named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his journal he noted that at meals the local people would eat fricassee of hen which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”. What he in fact 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 fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most renowned culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her recipe had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original food...
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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and arrange them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a high-quality gravy. Nowadays, we have exchanged 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 mix has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
