TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep frying chicken pieces in fat and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some other seasoning to the procedure andbuildingtheir own versionof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thefood preparersin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a fellow called James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “crispy 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 discovered that it lasted well well inhotclimatic conditions before refrigeration was common so was enjoyed on almost a daily basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work.
Since then it has become the southern state's best optionfor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for crispy fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most eminent culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her formula had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the US 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 2 eeg yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good quality deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and arrange them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a first-rate gravy. Nowadays, we have exchanged the hog fat with Rapeseed oil which features 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 mix has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
