TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying chicken pieces in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some other spices to the recipe andproducingtheir own versionof crispy deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thecooksin many a Southern American home where crispy deep-fried chicken became a prevalent staple.
This is said to have come from a guy known as James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 known as “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it lasted well well inwarmclimatic conditions before refrigeration was everyday so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work.
Since, it has become the region’s most suitable choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known process for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most well-known culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her mix had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a success in the England and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
Cut two chickens into quarters; 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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and serve them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a fine gravy. Today, 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 food has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
