TheScottish immigrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep-frying chicken pieces in fat and even further back they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some additional seasonings to the procedure andproducingtheir own presentationof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thecooksin many a Southern American family where crispy fried chicken became a prevalent staple.
This is said to have come from a chap named James Boswell who wrote ajournalin 1773 called “log of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his log he noted that at an evening meal the local folks would eat fricassee of poultry which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he actually heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also observed that it transported well inhotweather conditions prior to refrigeration was common so was consumed on almost a daily basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the southern state's best choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of 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 famed culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse named The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her dish had a strange name known as “To Marinate Chickens” which was first released in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the American Colonies.
Here is the original recipe...
Joint 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 yolkssome melted butter and nutmeg. Beat it all together well, dip yourchicken piecesin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of pork lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of a fine browncolour and place them on your platter with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a first-class gravy. Presently, we have replaced 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 procedure has journeyed worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
