Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America 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 African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some more seasonings to the mix andmakingtheir own presentationof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thecaterersin many a Southern American family where fried chicken became a ordinary staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 called “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his journal he noted that at dinner the local people would eat fricassee of rooster which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he actually 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 lasted well well inwarmtemperatures before refrigeration was commonplace so was eaten on almost an every day basis as they walked to the cotton fields to work.
Since then it has become the southern state's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known dish for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most famous cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her dish had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
Cut two chickens into pieces; 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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a excellent deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and set them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a good gravy. In the present day, we have swapped out the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which contains 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 formula has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
