TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in fat and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The immigrants from Scotland would often labor, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary seasoning to the process andproducingtheir own interpretationof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American house where crispy fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a gentleman known as James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his log he noted that at meals the local folks would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it journeyed well inwarmtemperatures in the times before refrigeration was everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the southern state's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known recipe for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most prominent cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Her dish had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the Usa 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 eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and serve them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a excellent gravy. In the present day, we have swapped out the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which contains 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 food has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
