TheScrotish migrantsfrom the southern states of Usa had a custom of deep frying chicken pieces in lard and even before this they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The Scottish immigrants would often labor, live and eat with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some new spices to the procedure andmakingtheir own interpretationof deep-fried chicken.
These Africans later evolved to be thechefsin many a Southern American house where fried chicken became a prevalent staple.
This is said to have come from a chap called James Boswell who wrote alogin 1773 known as “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his log he noted that at mealtime the local people would eat fricassee of chicken which he went on to say “fried chicken or something like that”.
What he in actuality heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also discovered that it journeyed well inhotweather before refrigeration was everyday so was enjoyed on almost a daily basis as they went to the cotton fields to work.
Since, it has become the south's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of crispy fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for crispy fried chicken in English is obscured 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 called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first published in 1747. The book was a hit in the United kingdom and more importantly in the US Colonies.
Here is the original formula...
Cut two chickens into quarters; lay 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 thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a first-rate deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of golden incolour and set them on your dish with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and a excellent gravy. Today, we have exchanged 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 process has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
