TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep-frying chicken in lard and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scrotish migrants would often labor, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some more spices to the dish andcreatingtheir own versionof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American house where deep-fried chicken became a regular staple. They also discovered that it journeyed well inhotclimatic conditions prior to refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the southern state's best optionfor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at meals the locals would eat fricassee of poultry 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 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 procedure for fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most famed cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her formula had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a success in the United kingdom and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
Joint two chickens into pieces; 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-rate deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and serve them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a good gravy. Now, we have swapped out 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 recipe has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
