11 secret herbs and spices revealed!

[mattl]

The Trib published a story on KFC's secret recipe and did the kitchen tests to verify it.  Seems it's right on.

 

The spice recipe, as written:

11 Spices – Mix With 2 Cups White Fl.

1) 2/3 Ts Salt

2) 1/2 Ts Thyme

3) 1/2 Ts Basil

4) 1/3 Ts Origino (sic)

5) 1 Ts Celery Salt

6) 1 Ts Black Pepper

7) 1 Ts Dried Mustard

8) 4 Ts Paprika

9) 2 Ts Garlic Salt

10) 1 Ts Ground Ginger

11) 3 Ts White Pepper

 

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

 

Plus the reviewers said it really needed some MSG.  The measurements are it Tablespoons.  The chicken is soaked in egg/buttermilk wash.

 

1 Mix the flour in a bowl with all the herbs and spices; set aside.

2 Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a separate bowl until combined. Soak the chicken in the buttermilk mixture at room temperature, 20-30 minutes.

3 Remove chicken from the buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off. Dip the chicken pieces in the herb-spice-flour mixture to coat all sides, shaking off excess. Allow to sit on a rack over a baking sheet, 20 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, heat about 3 inches of the oil in a large Dutch oven (or similar heavy pot with high sides) over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. (Use a deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature.) When temperature is reached, lower the heat to medium to maintain it at 350. Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry until medium golden brown, turning once, 15-18 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking sheet covered with paper towels. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding more chicken. Repeat with remaining chicken.

A note on MSG: A number of readers have asked how much MSG to use in the recipe above. Although KFC has confirmed that its present-day recipe uses MSG, that ingredient was not part of the list of herbs and spices we received from the Colonel's nephew, so we didn't include MSG in the published recipe. But we did taste the fried chicken with a sprinkle of MSG. If you want to try the chicken with MSG, we suggest doing as we did: Sprinkle a little on the finished chicken pieces right before eating.

KFC recipe challenge: Tribune kitchen puts the 11 herbs and spices to the test

Countless recipes have been tried out in the Tribune test kitchen but never one quite like this. Our mission: find out if 11 ingredients handwritten on a piece of paper could be the secret blend of…

www.chicagotribune.com

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well, after all these years of them being a secret, maybe it's time we found out...!

-- Dave

 

[foraloysius]

All those herbs and spices and their chicken still tastes like nothing! Amazing!

 

[vacerator]

Thats a lot of

salt! I guess now and then won't hurt, but you could just use ground celery seed, and plain garlic powder.
Back in the day, their chicken did actually taste very good.
I make fried chicken once in a while, and I add a few other herbs. Sage, poultry seasoning, a pinch of cayenne pepper, ground bay leaf, and coreander.

 

[artcurus]

from what I understand, KFC actually pressure fries it. It makes huge a difference.

Now if someone can just figure out their gravy.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

re: Gravy, before Harlan Sanders Regained OWNERSHIP!

Well, the mashed potatoes it goes on: Said to have been like Wallpaper Paste...!

 

 

-- Dave

 

[revvinkevin]

Now if someone can just figure out their gravy.

KFC's  mashed potatoes are instant, there's no masking THAT flavor.
 
I just found a "copycat" recipe for the gravy.
KFC Gravy Ingredients
 
4 tbsp. butter or shortening
5 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 beef bouillon cube 
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cups water
 
Boil water in the microwave or on the stove.
Add bouillon cubes to the water and stir until dissolved.
Place butter in a pot over low heat. Heat until butter has melted, stirring as needed.
Add flour to butter, stirring continuously with a whisk. Cook until the flour mixture takes on a golden brown hue.
Pour in bouillon-flavored water to the flour and butter mixture. Continue stirring to prevent lumps.
 
Turn up the heat to medium and cook until some of the water evaporates and leaves a creamy, yet pour-able gravy sauce.    Serve while still hot over mashed potatoes.[this post was last edited: 8/26/2016-09:35]

 

[supersuds]

Great 1976 article about the Colonel entering a KFC and telling them how they're doing it wrong.

Once in the kitchen, the colonel walked over to a vat full of frying chicken pieces and announced, ‘That's much too black. It should be golden brown. You're frying for 12 minutes—that's six minutes too long. What's more, your frying fat should have been changed a week ago. That's the worst fried chicken I've ever seen. Let me see your mashed potatoes with gravy, and how do you make them?”

When Mr. Singleton explained that he first mixed boiling water into the instant powdered potatoes, the colonel interrupted. “And then you have wallpaper paste,” he said. “Next suppose you add some of this brown gravy stuff and then you have sludge.” “There's no way anyone can get me to swallow those potatoes,” he said after tasting some. “And this cole slaw. This cole slaw! They just won't listen to me. It should he chopped, not shredded, and it should be made with Miracle Whip. Anything else turns gray. And there should be nothing in it but cabbage. No carrots!”

Mr. Singleton replied, “I just do what I'm told,. Sir,” and Colonel Sanders then said gently to the nowstunned manager, “Well, it's not your fault. You're just working for company that doesn't know what it's doing.”

“Tco bad, because it gives you a bad reputation,” he said by way of farewell.

http://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/09/archives/for-the-colonel-it-was-fingerlickin-bad.html?_r=0

 

[askolover]

sometimes I just crave some KFC, but it sho' ain't good as it used to be when I was a kid!

 

[58limited]

I've been playing with this recipe for the last week or so. Frying in a skillet as the Chicago Tribune did and using my pressure cooker - mixed results, the chicken usually gets too brown and too crisp which changes the flavor. One bite actually was dead on but the rest of that piece was too brown.

I've searched youtube and there is a video of the Colonel on the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show doing a demo (link below). He says they cook the chicken in hydrogenated oil at 29 7/10 PSI!!

Today, after reading the Mirro-Matic instructions from 1958 I changed my technique. The Mirro instructions say to brown the chicken in oil, add the rack and some water, and cook at 10 psi for 20 minutes before crisping in the oven. This reminded me a little of how I often chicken cook in my Lodge Chicken Fryer: put the chicken in, brown a few minutes, then put the lid on and turn the heat way down and cook for about 30-40 minutes. It comes out tender and with a soft batter like KFC Original.

Today I only heated the oil in the pressure cooker to 300. I added the chicken and immediately put the lid on. I kept the heat low enough that the weight didn't jiggle, it just hissed. Cooked 20 minutes. It came out as beautiful of a golden brown as KFC original, soft batter, tender chicken, and a very similar flavor to KFC original. I refuse to use MSG. This might not be THE recipe, but its close and a good one. Here is a picture (I know the date on my camera is wrong).[this post was last edited: 8/28/2016-14:14]

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF4ph_gKcpI

 

[washman]

KFC is just plain gross. Barely edible and an insult to fried chicken the world over.

 

[tolivac]

A former boss of mine ate at KFC----He was in the hospital for over two weeks with serious food poisoning!NEVER ate at those places ever since!!!If I am going to eat chicken-will fix it at HOME!

 

[rp2813]

David, if you want to use your Mirro-Matic cooker at 10 PSI, get one of their multiple-pressure weights.  They're not at all hard to come by.

 

 

[launderess]

Part of the secret to KFC chicken is it is pressure fried.

Something I would *NOT* do in any ordinary pressure cooker. Unless the thing is specifically designed and sold for pressure frying doing so can lead to harm, serious injury and other nasty things.

Fagor and Magefessa once made pressure fryers, don't know if one or both still do.

Of course if you are game there is always vintage Wearever "Chicken Bucket" pressure fryer. Those things go for big money on eBay and elsewhere with dedicated following. Have my mom's but only used it a few times then put it away never to see the light of day again. One reason is we don't eat much friend foods any longer (same at Mom's house which is how I got the thing in the first place), next it just seemed more bother and possibly dangerous than using my trusty vintage Wagner cast iron chicken frying pan. Thing is nice and deep, also once that mass of cast iron heats up it is great for keeping oil or fat at proper deep frying temp.

http://forums.roadfood.com/Fagor-and-Magefesa-Pressure-Fryers-m581457.aspx

http://www.cookistry.com/2013/09/pressure-fried-chicken.html

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-is-how-kfc-actually-makes-their-fried-chicken-from-1651170230

 

[frigilux]

FIRST AND FOREMOST: I'm with Launderess on this one. Don't deep fry under pressure in a regular pressure cooker! Read several warnings about that online. All said that a special pressure fryer was needed. There are a few YouTube videos of people using a regular pressure cooker to pressure fry chicken and all have warnings not to in the comment section. I suppose, as with unsafe canning procedures, one can do it 100 times without a problem; then on the 101st attempt you get blasted with 400-degree oil. But you'll probably die in the ensuing kitchen fire, anyway, so I wouldn't worry about the horrifying disfiguration.

Broasted Chicken: Here's a link to the Broaster company. Unfortunately they only sell their pressure fryers to commercial enterprises.

Homepage - Broaster Company

Broaster Company provides a “family” of businesses that assist restaurant, grocery store, and convenience stores owners in adding trademark food programs.

broaster.com

 

[vacerator]

I agree,

no small pressure cooker, and one of those single burner induction ranges will maintain the oil at 350 or 375 degrees f. regardless of how many pieces you try to fry.
I've fried chicken in my cast iron dutch oven on my gas range with a large candy thermometer fine as well.

 

[58limited]

Ralph,

My Mirro-matic has one of those multi pressure weights.

KFC's original pressure fryers were Mirro-matic 16" pressure cookers that were modified with a higher pressure valve. They were used into the 1970s I believe.

 

[norgeway]

I Have One

Of the KFC Fryers, it will hold 4 small chickens, I hate to disagree but KFC FIRST used a standard Presto, which I have done MANY times, heat the oil to 350, put in the chicken, when 15 pounds is reached time it 12 minutes, which is what a old time KFC man told me, remove pot from heat, take off the weight and let the pressure reduce quickly, takeoff the lid and serve, works great!

 

[kb0nes]

So it is said one cannot use a small pressure cooker to pressure fry in.

Why not?

Fear of something plugging the vent orifice or something else??