TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Us had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasoning to the process anddevelopingtheir own versionof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thecaterersin many a Southern American house where crispy deep-fried chicken became a typical staple.
They also found out that it travelled well inhotclimate before refrigeration was commonplace so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the southern state's most suitable choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a man known as James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his journal he noted that at meals the locals would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actual fact 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 crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known recipe for crispy fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most notable cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Cut two chickens into quarters; 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 eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-rate deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and arrange them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a excellent gravy. These days, 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 recipe has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
