Themigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in fat and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The immigrants from Scotland would often labor, live and eat with the indentured Africans and this lead to the Africans adding some supplementary flavorings to the formula anddevelopingtheir own interpretationof crispy deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later became thecooksin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a common staple.
This is said to have come from a chap known as James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 known as “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his record he noted that at dinner the local folks would eat fricassee of chicken 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 crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also observed that it journeyed well inwarmconditions before refrigeration was everyday so was consumed on almost an every day basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the south's most suitable choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known dish for crispy deep-fried chicken in English is hidden away in one of the most famed cookery books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her dish had a strange name named “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a success in the United kingdom and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original dish...
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 yolksa little melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together very 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 bronze incolour and arrange them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a superior gravy. Today, we have substituted 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 food has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
