Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat 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 extra seasonings to the process andgeneratingtheir own versionof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later became thefood preparersin many a Southern American family where deep-fried chicken became a ordinary staple.
They also discovered that it lasted well well inwarmweather prior to refrigeration was common so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the region’s preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 called “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his record he noted that at mealtime the local folks would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he really 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 dish for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most celebrated cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her procedure 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 American Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
Cut two chickens into quarters; 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 yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and serve them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a good quality gravy. Now, we have changed 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 food has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.