Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Us had a custom of deep-frying chicken in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some more spices to the food andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken.
These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American family where deep-fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a guy named James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his record he noted that at mealtime 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 crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also found out that it travelled well inwarmconditions prior to refrigeration was prevalent so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the southern state's top choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known process for crispy fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most renowned cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called 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 Usa Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Cut 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 2 eeg yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a high-quality deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and place them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a first-rate gravy. Today, 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 dish has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
