Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep-frying chicken in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some other seasoning to the process anddevelopingtheir own presentationof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later became thefood preparersin many a Southern American home where deep-fried chicken became a prevalent staple.
This is said to have come from a man named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his journal he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in actuality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also learned that it transported well inwarmconditions before refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work.
Since then it has become the region’s preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for crispy fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most prominent cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her formula had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
Joint two chickens into pieces; lay 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 well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good quality deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and set them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a fine gravy. In the present day, we have swapped out 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 formula has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
