Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in fat and even prior to this 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 procedure andproducingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken. These Africans later went on to become thecooksin many a Southern American home where crispy fried chicken became a universal staple.
They also found that it transported well inwarmweather before refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor. Since, it has become the southern state's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy called James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his log he noted that at mealtime the local people would eat fricassee of chicken 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 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 formula for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most notable cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her formula had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
Joint two chickens into quarters; steep 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 yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and arrange them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a first-class gravy. These days, we have replaced 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 mix has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
