TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The migrants from Scotland would often labor, live and eat with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary seasonings to the food andmakingtheir own interpretationof crispy deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later became thecaterersin many a Southern American family where crispy fried chicken became a typical staple.
This is said to have come from a gentleman named James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “journal 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 fried chicken or something like that”.
What he really heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it travelled well inhotweather conditions prior to refrigeration was commonplace so was consumed on almost every day basis as they travelled to the cotton fields to work.
Since, it has become the south's best optionfor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known recipe for deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most eminent cooking 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 in print in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
Cut 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 2 eeg yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a first-class deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of bronze incolour and lay them on your bowl with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon slices and a superior gravy. Today, 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 mix has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
