Name: Fried Chicken KFC
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Buttermilk; 1 medium Egg; 1 teaspoon Table salt; 4 lb Chicken pieces; ⅔ teaspoon salt; ⅓ teaspoon thyme; ½ teaspoon basil; ⅓ teaspoon oregano; 1 teaspoon celery salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon dry mustard; 4 teaspoons paprika; 2 teaspoons garlic salt; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 3 teaspoons white pepper; 2 cups White flour

Yearning for KFC fired chicken but long is the way to get there? Let’s try this secret ingredients fried chicken that’s hard to forebear!

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Sometimes it’s hard to let things go. In fact, most of the time we have very hard time letting things go once we are personally involved with its making.

Experiment on Ikea furniture shows that once we invest our time and skills to build something, be that thing as simple and easy as assembling flatpack furniture, we value it more than other things we haven’t been involved with.

This is not only makes us ask more money for the furniture we built but appreciate it more and it truly becomes part of our life.

Unfortunately, this study wasn’t well known before Betty Crooker launched the instant cake mix which didn’t require anything but some liquid to be ready to be baked in the oven. It turned out that housewives didn’t feel the cake of their own and the cake mix was a flop, until the extra requirement for fresh egg was included for its making.

The more we are involved in the making, the harder it is to face the changes we aren’t agree with, once we lose control over it. Much like when we realize that our kids have grown up and our authority shrinks to an opinion, we sell our beloved car and see it tuned to unrecognizably or in case we sell our restaurant, and the new owner changes the recipes for cost effectiveness.

No wonder Colonel Sanders, the original owner of KFC was sued by the company for defamation when they dared to ruin the gravy and he gave voice to his disapproval at every chance he got.

It’s a bit hard to make KFC chicken at home, not because the ingredients are secret or not widely shared on the web but because it requires special equipment to prepare it. Many of us heard about pressure cookers, but KFC chickens are prepared in oil pressure cookers or fryers that unfortunately aren’t the same as our sneezy home pressure cookers.

Although, when KFC wasn’t even an idea but only a roadside restaurant, a couple of chickens were made in just such a device. Soon, it was realized that the sealing gaskets can’t stand the heat required for frying.

Even after KFC was born and specialized equipment was made just for them to pressure fry chickens, accidents were fairly frequent involving hot oil explosions and resulting burns. Nowadays, KFC uses highly specialized equipment with automatic oil cleaning temperature and time control to fry their chicken to perfection, every time.

So even if we nail the secret ingredients, we are still handicapped by not having the proper equipment for frying through the meat quickly enough. The original recipe requires the meat to be pan fried which takes about 30 minutes a pop.

Deep frying the chicken will make the process quicker but according to Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder himself, it will make chicken dry and produces subpar results.

So, if we want to enjoy the real deal then we have to serve our time over the stovetop or buy a pressure fryer and find a cozy corner for it in our kitchen.

Of course, if we are happy with close enough results which allows us to get by, between two KFC visits then deep frying the coated chicken will save our day once in a while. Just make sure Colonel Sanders won’t hear about it.

Ingredients

Chicken

1 cup / 250ml Buttermilk
1 medium / 55g Egg
1 teaspoon / 5g Table salt
4 lb / 2kg Chicken pieces

Spices

11 Spices – Mix with 2 cups white flour

2⁄3 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon thyme
1⁄2 teaspoon basil
1⁄3 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 teaspoons white pepper
2 cups White flour

How to make KFC fried chicken

Whisk buttermilk, egg and salt until well combined.
Add the pieces of chicken and coat with the buttermilk mixture. Put it in the fridge for at least a half an hour but preferably 24.
Measure out the spices and the flour then mix it.
Sprinkle a tablespoon or two buttermilk into the flour and mix it together by hand. We are trying to make lumps of flour that will stick to the chicken, creating a crunchy layer on top. Don’t need to add too much as we progress with the coating, the flour accumulates more liquid from the meat.
Place a piece of chicken into the flour and press firmly into it so the flour and lumps stick to the meat.
Cover the whole meat by rolling around in the flour and pressing it down. Transfer to a plate ready for frying but don’t prepare more than a batch at a time. The coating gets soggy quickly and can peel off the meat.
Heat oil for frying to medium and place in the chicken pieces. Leave plenty of space around them. Smaller, boneless pieces of chicken can be fried at higher level as those inner temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C quicker without burning the coating.
When the bottom turns golden brown turn the meat over. This should be fairly slow process, about 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.
Once both sides get the lovely golden brown color, take them out, about 10 – 15 minutes. Check for done-ness, either by a temperature gauge or simply cutting the meat at its thickest part, inspecting for pinkness or blood. If the meat hasn’t been done yet, we can cut it up in half and place it back into the fryer to finish it. Lower the temperature for the next batch. Optionally, in case we don’t want to cut up the pieces, finish it in the oven at 400°F / 200°C.
Let the oil drip before serving.