TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some new spices to the formula andgeneratingtheir own presentationof crispy fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American home where fried chicken became a common staple. They also found out that it transported well inhotconditions before refrigeration was commonplace so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work. Since, it has become the region’s go-tofor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a man called James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 known as “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his diary he noted that at dinner the local folks would eat fricassee of chicken which he went on to say “crispy deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy 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 food for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most famed cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse known as The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her recipe had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
Cut two chickens into quarters; steep 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 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 golden incolour and lay them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a first-class gravy. Presently, we have changed 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 procedure has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
