Maybe you saw the story in the news recently: the nephew of Colonel Sanders himself revealed the 11 secret herbs and spices that made KFC’s original recipe chicken a worldwide success. He claimed he worked for his uncle for many years and had to make huge batches of the seasoning mix. The article reduced the amounts to a more user-friendly version, which I put together last night.
You have to understand something…although I’m a big proponent of grass-fed this and pastured that, I have a weakness. My kryptonite is KFC’s original recipe chicken. There’s a KFC right next door to a local Home Depot in my area and my car literally drives itself to the pick-up window…I can’t help it. I justify the consumption of grease by asking for no sides–no biscuit, no nothing. I get one breast and one thigh, and I drive off, steering my car with my knees as I indulge in my dirty secret.
Making the KFC chicken recipe at home means I do have some control over product quality. I use pastured or organic chicken. I use clean oil. And I oven-fry my chicken, meaning I fry it in oil until golden brown, then finish the cooking process in the oven.
I have to say, the recipe really works! Maybe if I placed the real KFC side-by-side with my home-made chicken, I’d notice a difference. But it was pretty damn close and absolutely delicious! If I could change one thing, I would use smaller chicken pieces next time. I used large pieces and the meat-to-breading ratio was off. Though it was mighty tasty, I was craving more breading per bite.
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2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
5 lbs. chicken pieces…your choice
oil, for frying
Combine the flour and the “11 herbs and spices” in a bowl. Mix well.
In another bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg. Add the chicken pieces to this bowl and let the chicken soak in it for 10 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Pour a couple of inches of the oil into a pan with high sides and heat to 340 degrees, using a thermometer. Don’t go too high up, because oil expands when hot and could spill over.
Take the chicken pieces and coat them with the seasoning mix one at a time, making sure you coat them well. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan…work in small batches. Too much chicken could cause the oil to spill over the top.
Fry the chicken pieces until golden…no need to cook them all the way through. Place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil. When all the chicken has been fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the chicken pieces reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.
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