Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Us had a tradition of deep-frying chicken in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The migrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some extra seasoning to the procedure anddevelopingtheir own versionof fried chicken. These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American household where fried chicken became a typical staple.
They also found out that it journeyed well inhotweather before refrigeration was prevalent so was eaten on almost every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the region’s best choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a guy named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his record he noted that at an evening meal the local people would eat fricassee of rooster which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”. What he in fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of crispy deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured in one of the most notable culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy. Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a hit in the England 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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a good quality deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and arrange them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a good quality gravy. Presently, we have substituted 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 process has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
