Ready, Set, GO! KFC recipe revealed?

[elleng]

Tribune shown family scrapbook with 11 herbs and spices.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/travel/ct-kfc-recipe-revealed-20160818-story.html

[hlthe2b]

1. Not too exotic, if true...

I rarely cook, but I have all but the celery salt in the cupboard. Interesting...

[elleng]

2. Right, not exotic at all.

I don't know that 'we' expected it to be exotic, but the 'combo' was the mystery.

[TygrBright]

3. I worked at KFC for a brief hellish period.

We knew perfectly well it was all "basic" ingredients and that the biggest proportions were pepper and paprika. The "coatings" arrived already mixed with flour in sacks, we were told exactly how to use them in preparing the chicken pieces for the fryer.

It was all about the mystique as a marketing schtick.

Unfortunately, after having worked in that kitchen and knowing exactly how everything was made (this was back when the franchisees actually had to order raw ingredients and prep them on site, rather than ordering them already prepped....) I could never eat the stuff again.

regretfully,
Bright

[Galileo126]

4. Amen, Bright (Tygr)

It really wasn't about 11 Herbs and spices. It was salt, pepper, and (American) paprika.

The key was.... wait for it.... a fry pressure cooker. "Eleven herbs and spices be damned".

We Americans .... we will full our mouths with....


<you> fill in the blank <.....>

[LeftofObama]

5. My sister and I decided we're going to try to make this at my mom's house for Sunday dinner.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

[LeftofObama]

6. My sister and I made this today for Sunday dinner.

We followed the directions to the letter and even added Accent flavoring to it like they did in the article. It was as close as I've ever tasted to KFC, but it wasn't quite the same. There is still something missing.

[elleng]

7. Neat you tried it!

What about the process? 'What's not a secret is the pressure-cooking technique used by Sanders and now KFC to make the fried chicken.

In the early '50s, the Colonel — an honorary title bestowed by the governor of Kentucky — began selling to other restaurants the two keys to his tasty birds: custom pressure cookers and the enigmatic mix.

"The original KFC chicken, I think, was better, because it had more breading to it," Ledington says. "It was individually hand-breaded and dropped in those pressure cookers. You cooked it until it started turning brown. And then you put the lid on the pressure cooker and brought it to 12 pounds of pressure for 10 minutes. And then you started letting the pressure off, and when you uncapped it and the pressure was off, it was perfect: golden brown and fall-off-the-bone."'

[LeftofObama]

8. Yep, we fried it until it started turning brown and then we put it in the pressure cooker at 12 lbs.

for 10 minutes. It looked and smelled identical to KFC. The chicken really did fall off the bone. It was SO tender!

In the article it said to marinate in a buttermilk/egg mixture for 20 minutes before cooking, but I marinated it overnight in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Maybe that's why it didn't taste exactly the same. Next time I'll just marinate it for 20 minutes. Anyway, it was absolutely delicious!

[spinbaby]

9. I read an article...

...long ago about someone who sent the stuff to be analyzed and discovered that it was seasoned with salt, pepper, and monosodium glutamate.

Is anyone else disturbed by the KFC commercials? It bothers me that their selling point isn't that it tastes good, but that one of their meals will "fill you up" for some paltry amount of money.

[Galileo126]

10. I remember reading a similar article.

That there were only 3 ingredients in the flour mix. And, it wasn't too long ago (a year ago). Looks like someone tried to redo the analysis. Who knows if it's true, though.

I haven't eaten KFC in 25 years, because each time I did I would regret the ageda that followed. KFC is the only chicken joint that did that to me.