Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Us had a custom of deep-frying chicken pieces in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The immigrants from Scotland would often work, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some other seasonings to the food andgeneratingtheir own versionof fried chicken. These Africans later became thecooksin many a Southern American family where fried chicken became a typical staple. They also discovered that it travelled well inwarmtemperatures in the times before refrigeration was everyday so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the southern state's best choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 named “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in reality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known dish for crispy fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most eminent culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her procedure had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
Joint two chickens into quarters; 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 eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-rate deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and lay them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a high-quality gravy. Now, we have exchanged 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 mix has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
