TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in lard and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and dine with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some extra seasoning to the mix andcreatingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thecaterersin many a Southern American home where fried chicken became a regular staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 called “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his log he noted that at meals the locals would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he really heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it journeyed well inhotclimatic conditions prior to refrigeration was prevalent so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work.
Since then it has become the southern state's top choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most renowned cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her mix had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original process...
Cut 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 2 eeg yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin 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 golden incolour and serve them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a superior gravy. In the present day, we have substituted 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 process has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
