TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The migrants from Scotland would often labor, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some extra spices to the dish andcreatingtheir own versionof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American family where fried chicken became a frequent staple. They also found that it lasted well well inhottemperatures in the times before refrigeration was prevalent so was enjoyed on almost an every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to labor. Since, it has become the region’s most suitable choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a gentleman known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the local people would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy 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 food for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most renowned culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her procedure had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a success in the United kingdom and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
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 well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and arrange them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a superior gravy. Now, 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 walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
