TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of America had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasoning to the mix andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thefood preparersin many a Southern American household where crispy fried chicken became a ordinary staple.
This is said to have come from a gentleman named James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his record he noted that at meals the local folks would eat fricassee of hen which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in actuality 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 that it travelled well inwarmweather before refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they walked 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 deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known procedure for crispy fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most famed cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her recipe had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original formula...
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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very 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 light golden incolour and set them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a good quality gravy. Nowadays, we have changed 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 went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
