Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep frying chicken in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The immigrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary spices to the mix andmakingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thefood preparersin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a typical staple. They also found that it journeyed well inwarmweather prior to refrigeration was everyday so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the south's top choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a fellow called James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his record he noted that at dinner the locals would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actual fact 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 dish for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most well-known culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her process had a strange name known as “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 procedure...
Cut 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 thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-rate deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and lay them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a first-class gravy. In the present day, 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 process has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
