TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a tradition of deep-frying chicken pieces in lard and even prior to this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages. The migrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the African slaves and this lead to the Africans adding some additional spices to the mix andbuildingtheir own versionof crispy deep-fried chicken. These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American home where crispy deep-fried chicken became a frequent staple. They also observed that it transported well inhotconditions prior to refrigeration was common so was eaten on almost a daily basis as they journeyed to the cotton fields to work. Since then it has become the region’s most suitable choicefor just about any occasion.
This is said to have come from a gentleman called James Boswell who wrote adiaryin 1773 named “diary of a Tour to the Hebrides”. In his log he noted that at an evening meal the locals would eat fricassee of rooster which he went on to say “crispy fried chicken or something like that”. What he in fact heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy deep-fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.
The very true origins of crispy fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known dish for fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most prominent culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of cooking Made Plain and Easy. Her process had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first in print in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original procedure...
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 well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a high-quality 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 dish 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 recipe has travelled worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
