TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep-frying chicken in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some more spices to the recipe andgeneratingtheir own presentationof crispy fried chicken.
These Africans later became thefood preparersin many a Southern American household where crispy fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a gentleman named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his diary he noted that at an evening meal the local people would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he really heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also found out that it transported 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 south's best choicefor 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 hidden away in one of the most famed cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy.
Her recipe had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Joint two chickens into pieces; 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 yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a fine 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 good quality gravy. Nowadays, we have replaced 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 procedure has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
