Theimmigrants from Scotlandfrom the southern states of America had a custom of deep frying chicken in fat and even previously they used to fry fritters in the middle ages.
The immigrants from Scotland would often work, live and dine with the African Americans and this lead to the Africans adding some other flavorings to the mix andgeneratingtheir own interpretationof Southern Fried Chicken.
These Africans later went on to become thecaterersin many a Southern American house where crispy deep-fried chicken became a ordinary staple.
This is said to have come from a male called James Boswell who wrote arecordin 1773 named “journal of a Tour to the Hebrides”.
In his record he noted that at mealtime the local people would eat fricassee of fowl which he went on to say “deep-fried chicken or something like that”.
What he really heard was the Scottish dish Friars Chicken, not crispy fried chicken but you could say that where it was first named.They also learned that it transported well inwarmweather in the times before refrigeration was seen everyday so was consumed on almost every day basis as they walked to the cotton fields to labor.
Since, it has become the south's preferred choicefor just about any occasion.
The very true origins of fried chicken we will probably never know but the earliest known food for crispy fried chicken in English is stashed in one of the most celebrated culinary books of the 18th century by Hannah Glasse called The Art of culinary Made Plain and Easy.
Her procedure had a strange name called “To Marinate Chickens” which was first available in 1747. The book was a success in the England and more importantly in the Usa Colonies.
Here is the original food...
Joint two chickens into quarters; 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 thoroughly, dip yourfowlsin the batter and fry them in a fine deal of hogs lardwhich must boil first before you put your fowl in. Let them be of light golden incolour and arrange them on your plate with a garnish of fried parsley. Serve with lemons and a fine gravy. Now, 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 formula has walked worldwide and how different cultures have adopted their own versions.
