Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Us had a custom of deep frying chicken in lard and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scrotish migrants would often work, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some new seasoning to the food andcreatingtheir own versionof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later became thecooksin many a Southern American home where crispy fried chicken became a universal staple.
This is said to have come from a man known as James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 known as “record of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his journal he noted that at dinner the locals would eat fricassee of chicken which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in actuality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also found that it travelled well inwarmweather conditions in the times before refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost every day basis as they went to the cotton fields to labor.
Since then it has become the southern state's best choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy 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 renowned cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy.
Her formula had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a success in the UK and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original process...
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 the yolks of two eggssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together thoroughly, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a good quality deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and serve them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a first-rate gravy. Now, we have swapped out 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 dish has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
