Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa 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 Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some other seasonings to the food andbuildingtheir own presentationof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American home where deep-fried chicken became a universal staple.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at mealtime the local folks would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also learned that it lasted well well inhotweather prior to refrigeration was everyday so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to work.
Since then it has become the southern state's go-tofor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most famous culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her procedure had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a success in the England and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
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 very well, dip yourfowlsin 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 arrange them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a first-class gravy. These days, we have swapped out 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 mix has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
