TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some more flavorings to the recipe andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thefood preparersin many a Southern American household where deep-fried chicken became a regular staple. They also observed that it lasted well well inhotweather conditions before refrigeration was commonplace so was consumed on almost every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor. Since, it has become the south's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a chap called James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his record he noted that at meals the local folks would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actual fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of crispy fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most notable cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her procedure had a strange name called “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 formula...
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 2 eeg yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and lay them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a superior gravy. These days, we have substituted 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 food has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
