18th Century Fried Chicken

"This recipe calls for a marinade that is sure to surprise you. The tartness of the marinade contrasted to the sweetness of the batter really sets this dish off. We highly recommend you try this!"

Ingredients

Marinade

• Juice of 2 large lemons
• Equal amount of malt vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
• 2 bay leaves

Chicken

• 1 chicken, cut into pieces (although original recipe calls for quartered chicken)

Batter

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Enough Rhenish wine (white wine) to make into a thin pancake-type batter
• Yolks of 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt

Fried Parsley

• Very dry fresh parsley

Instructions

Marinade

1. Whisk all ingredients together.

Chicken

1. Cut chicken into pieces. Marinate chicken for 3 hours.

Batter

1. Whisk all together.
2. To deep fry, use the oil of your choice. Heat oil to about 350 degrees F. You should see a little shimmer on the top - definitely not smoking.
3. Fry in batches of 3 or 4 pieces. Fry until the color is a light mahogany brown.

Fried Parsley

1. After washing parsley, make sure that it is very dry, using a paper towel to pat it dry, if necessary. Fry in small batches for several minutes until it is crispy. Crumble over chicken as a garnish.

Notes

Mr. Townsend stated that this recipe was under "Marinades" in the cookbook.

Source: Nathan Bailey's 1736 cookbook, Dictionarium Domesticum - presented by Jas Townsend, 18th Century Cooking