Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying poultry in fat and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The immigrants from Scotland would often labor, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some extra spices to the process andcreatingtheir own versionof crispy fried chicken. These Africans later went on to become thecooksin many a Southern American household where crispy fried chicken became a universal staple. They also learned that it transported well inhotconditions prior to refrigeration was everyday so was enjoyed on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor. Since then it has become the region’s best optionfor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a man named James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 known as “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his journal he noted that at dinner the local people would eat fricassee of capon which he went on to say “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 deep-fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known formula for deep-fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most well-known cooking books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her formula had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a hit in the England and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original mix...
Cut two chickens into pieces; marinate 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 yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a superior deal of pork shorteningwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and arrange them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with cut lemon and a high-quality gravy. These days, we have swapped out 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 dish has went worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
