Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Us had a custom of deep-frying poultry in lard and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary seasoning to the process andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken. These Africans later became thecooksin many a Southern American household where crispy fried chicken became a common staple. They also found that it travelled well inhotclimatic conditions before refrigeration was seen everyday so was enjoyed on almost every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to labor. Since, it has become the southern state's go-tofor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a chap named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his log he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of pullet which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in reality 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 crispy fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known mix for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most prominent culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her food had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Joint two chickens into pieces; marinate 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 yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a high-quality deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and place them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a good quality gravy. These days, we have replaced 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 procedure has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
