TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying chicken in fat and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The immigrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some new flavorings to the formula andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American family where crispy deep-fried chicken became a common staple. They also discovered that it travelled well inhotweather conditions before refrigeration was seen everyday so was enjoyed on almost an 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.
This is said to have come from a male named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his log he noted that at dinner the locals would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”. What he in actuality 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 food for deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most recognized cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cookery Made Plain and Easy. Her food had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a success in the England and more importantly in the Usa 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 the yolks of two eggsa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a excellent deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and set them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a first-class gravy. These days, we have changed 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 formula has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
