KFC Original Recipe Chicken decoded by a food reporter and republished with all 11 herbs and spices to make picture perfect KFC chicken at home! 
KFC Original Recipe Chicken has been a huge part of my childhood. As a kid my aunt would walk me home from school and we would stop at the KFC that was a half a block from my school. We’d share chicken and a strawberry parfait they used to sell. Unlike the Pioneer Chicken that my mom used to buy, this food memory is one I can still enjoy anytime I wanted.
So why make a copycat recipe of it if you have one a mile down the road? Well, A: Copycat recipes are a ton of fun and B: Way, way, way, way higher quality. Have you been to a KFC in the last decade? I’ve only been a few times but was disappointed each time because the chicken pieces have shrunken… a lot. Also, and hey to each his own (I’m definitely guilty of my fair share of food sins), but KFC uses MSG in the recipe for its KFC Original Recipe Chicken. Oh, and last thing, as far as fast food goes, it tends to be pretty pricy.
So here we are all trying to decode the famous 11 herbs and spices. Everyone has theories, and according to KFC no one has EVER been right. So I have sort of watched the copycat rounds develop from a distance. Then something pretty awesome happened. 
A food reporter for the Chicago Tribune visited the nephew of good old Colonel Sanders himself. He has memories of this recipe that he used to make by the bucket. And lo and behold he has a copy of the recipe in an old scrapbook. So of course the reporter snaps a picture and proceeds to bring it back to Chicago for some serious taste testing.
Now, as a huge KFC Original Recipe Chicken fan, I’m interested. They recipe test and with the single addition of MSG find that they’ve recreated that distinct amazing flavor. 
So here it is, in all its glory. I did make a couple of adjustments in my side by side comparison during recipe testing.
- I ditched the MSG, if you want to add it back in, Accent Seasoning will do the trick and you can add ½ teaspoon for every pound of chicken used. It definitely seems to be the X factor here for that final kick of nostalgic flavor, so again if you want the 100% real deal, grab a canister and add away.
- I reduced the paprika by 1 tablespoon. The flavor seemed off to me, and in a comparison of color I found 3 tablespoons to be a better representation of the original. Want to stick to the recipe the Chicago Tribune uncovered? Use the full 4 tablespoons.
- Last change, but a really big one. If you were to buy some KFC Original Recipe Chicken and really inspect the breading of the chicken you will find dark specks. Yes, those specks are your herbs and spices, but guess what else they are? Uniform. Maybe to hide the recipe since shapes may give away ingredients. Maybe to prevent the overpowering flavor of biting into an entire piece of dried thyme. Either way, I pulverized the thyme, basil and oregano in my small food processor. Bingo, tiny specks. 😉
- I added more oil (truth: I used my deep fryer, but if you just add more oil, you’ll have a full deep fry in a larger stockpot) instead of the cast iron skillet fry that was done in the recipe as printed.
Thanks so much to the awesome folks at the Chicago Tribune for this KFC Original Recipe Chicken “copycat.” 
Or perhaps you want more copycat recipes!
- KFC Potato Wedges (Copycat)
- KFC Coleslaw (Copycat)
- Tony Roma’s BBQ Chicken
- Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat)
- Chick-fil-A Nuggets (Copycat)
Tools Used In This Recipe:
Deep Fryer: Easy for keeping temperature on point and kind of fun to use!
Accent Seasoning: The x factor, this is MSG, so use at your discretion.
Pigtail Flipper: I LOVE this tool for frying. I am able to drop and pick up pieces without removing any breading at all thanks to this awesome tool.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil leaves
- 1/3 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried mustard
- 3 tablespoons paprika (original recipe calls for 4 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 3 tablespoons ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoons Accent Seasoning , optional (I left this out)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 chicken , cut into 10 pieces (2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs and 2 breasts each cut in half to make 4 breast pieces)
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Add the spices to a small food processor until they're all uniform in size and the thyme, basil and oregano aren't larger in size anymore.
- Add the flour in a bowl with all the herbs and spices and mix with a whisk.
- In a second larger bowl add the buttermilk and egg together and whisk until combined.
- Add the chicken to the buttermilk mixture for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the buttermilk soak and let any excess buttermilk drip off.
- Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture on all sides, then shake off the excess coating.
- Let it rest on a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes.
- Add oil to a deep fryer or a large pot that is at least 5 inches high so that the chicken can be fully submerged.
- Heat the oil to 350 degrees and fry in small batches for 15-18 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oil and add to a drying rack on top of a clean cookie sheet.
- If you add it to a paper towel or newspaper the bottom of the chicken will steam from the heat and become soft.
Notes
I reduced the paprika by 1 tablespoon.
I pulverized the thyme, basil and oregano in my small food processor.
I added more oil Thanks so much to the awesome folks at the Chicago Tribune for this KFC Original Recipe Chicken "copycat."
Nutrition
Really do get hints of KFC however way too much white pepper need to cut it down by half or even more
I have been experimenting with this recipe and what I have discovered is that for the amounts of spices listed if made with 2 cups of flour, the concentration of spices is far too high. I found the sweet spot is 5 cups flour to the list of spices in the above recipe.
Neat.
Today I tried a blind attempt to do the KFC recipe, and it was not bad at all. I used dried bread that I grounded in breadcrumbs, and I mixed pepper, Delhi curry powder and paprika in it. Then I covered my pieces of meat like you did, with flour, egg and my spiced breadcrumbs. I sprayed all the stuff with oil, and then I air fried all of it. Since it was my first try, I cooked at 160 °C for 30 minutes and then 200 °C for 10 minutes. At the same time I cooked tempura veggies and tempura potato cubes the same way. At my biggest surprise, especially considering it was air fried, it looked nice and the chicken was very tasty. Maybe I’ll try to reduce the cooking time, because 40 minutes is very long compared to 10 minutes in a deep fryer, and most probably a KFC expert won’t be happy with my mix, but it was nevertheless delicious. Hard to tell if it was healthier than deep fried, though, because I added the equivalent amount of a few spoons of oil on the chicken.
I’ll try your spice mix next time, but not the buttermilk. I don’t see the need to soak the chicken. In case it’s too stiff, I can simply tenderize it with a rolling pin. Of course no MSG.
Anyway, it works well with air fryers too.
Thanks for your feedback.
This tastes NOTHING like KFC chicken! Don’t waste your time making it!
Ok, so I’ve been trying multiple fried chicken recipes for over 20+ years, and have attempted to duplicate every recipe under the sun from Paula Deen to KFC and everyone else, ever. Literally.
I am NOT a professional chef, however I do know a whole lot of things and stuff and have catered many many things with tremendous success. I really pride myself on my various recipes, both borrowed from others and heirloom family secrets passed down for generations.
This recipe I followed ‘to the Tee,’ per se, minus the Accent seasoning, aka MSG. That stuff, although often used in a lot of food, us not good for anyone at all. But, hey, that’s just me. Long story short, no. This recipe tasted nothing like KFC. At least not the KFC that I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve had it in multiple states, in many different kitchens; deep-fried and also using a pressure cooker, fry daddy, what have you. Slightly, just slightly… But alas, no uh uh.
So, being the weirdo culinary foodie OCD perfectionist that I am, I threw in a few tweaks. I added a little cumin, salt-free off-brand seasoning ala Mrs. Dash-like stuff I literally just randomly picked up somewhere, a few shakes if poultry seasoning and of course used garlic POWDER, not garlic salt. I also added Louisiana Hot Sauce to the marinade, just a few dashes to make the marinade slightly pink in color. I used gallon-sized Ziploc bags and separated the chicken into 2 gallon bags and doubled the marinade recipe to accommodate for the massive amounts of chicken I fried, haha. I actually made this for Christmas dinner this year because my family just loves fried chicken, being the Yankees that have a southern cooking soul that we are. I also only used drums and thighs. White meat takes too long, in my opinion.
I used canola oil, not vegetable oil, and in a cast iron pan/Dutch oven in small batches – max 4 pieces at a time, depending on the size of the chicken parts. Yes, very time consuming, but very much worth the time!
Long story short, the chicken we had was absolutely amazing and everyone claimed it was the best I’ve ever made.
Side note: add just a little more flour, maybe a half cup, so 2.5c. of flour instead of just 2c. flour. We also really enjoy using Crystal with garlic brand hot sauce.
Enjoy!!! ??
When I make friend chicken I only fry it for three minutes, then bake for 10-15 minutes, or else, if I were to fry for 12 – 15 minutes, the result would be a very dark, almost burned looking chicken. How do you keep your chicken from looking to dark?
Maybe your oil is too hot? Do you use a thermometer to check the temperature?
Well, I have been eating KFC for 57 years and this generation of KFC friend chicken and coleslaw and mashed potatoes and the biscuits is fake, nothing, like what it use to be!!!!!! KFC is still good and makes my mouth water but, back when I was young it was all made from real chickens running in the fields, no instant potatoes and package gravy no MSG was none back then!!! No, carrots in the slaw and was hand shredded cabbage with Mayo vinegar sugar and black pepper!!! Also, biscuits had real butter, real lard!!! all in all, KFC is fake now but, hey it’s still memories of the good old days!!!
Fry at 250-300 for 20 mins
It’s actually teaspoon, not tablespoon.
1) 2/3 Teaspoon of Salt
2) 1/2 Teaspoon of Thyme
3) 1/2 Teaspoon of Basil
4) 1/3 Teaspoon of Oregano
5) 1 Teaspoon of Celery Salt
6) 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
7) 1 Teaspoon of Dried Mustard
8) 4 Teaspoons of Paprika
9) 2 Teaspoons of Garlic Salt
10) 1 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger
11) 3 Teaspoons of White Pepper
Mix the given amount of herbs and spices in a small bowl (No Flour)
Cut down the chicken into pieces, pour the whole spice mixture, and coat them evenly in a large bowl
Mix 2 cups of milk and 2 whole eggs and pour over the chicken
Cover the bowl and leave to marinate in a refrigerator for 12-24 hours
Mix the same given amount of herbs and spices with 2 cups of all purpose white flour
Take out each chicken piece and coat evenly in the seasoned flour
Dip each chicken piece back into the milk and egg mix and coat it in the seasoned flour once more
Heat a frying oil to 350F and fry for 10-12 minutes
I thought so!!! After seeing the original note on-line, it was ambiguous, as to tablespoons or teaspoons, with the use of capital ‘T’s’ throughout the recipe.
teaspoon is usually ‘t’ 1 t. salt
Tablespoon is ‘T’ 1 T. salt
I don’t know if there was any alterations in the UK KFC recipe. A few year ago I tried replicating the recipe. Basically I agree with all of the herb’s and spices, however I can’t remember using ginger as I don’t like the taste. My method did not include buttermilk as there is not much call for this in the UK.
First I divided the chicken into same sized pieces and lightly floured them.
Secondly I made a simple batter as used by fish and chip shops, when the batter was a uniform consistency.
Third I tossed the herb’s etc into the batter. Note I didn’t measure any of these out I relied on smell before adding the herb’s etc to the batter, I used all dried herbs so any spare can be kept In reserve in a separate pot.
I then dipped each piece of chicken into the batter and fried until golden brown about 10 – 15 minutes.
Each batch of fried chicken was placed in a baking dish when fried. After the last of the chicken was placed in a baking tray it was baked for around 35 minutes at 200 C.
This recipe came from a very old cooking book for a Scottish fried chicken recipe, I was totally unaware that fried chicken was a traditional Scottish dish going back a few hundred years. The result was delicious and identical in taste to the original KFC, in other words Colonel Sanders only came across this recipe and gave it a lot of hype, but he did make this available to many satisfied customers via his franchise. I am searching my loft in the hope that I still have the original recipe. Please note that I am not a chef or cook, I am single and had to learn to cook for myself, as such I don’t measure ingredients basically chuck all that is required and cross my fingers. At my second attempt I did the same but let the chicken remain in the batter this enhanced but didn’t change the flavour.
Just finished eating and it was very similar in taste. Of course, in my opinion, no one can make the same thing at home without professional kitchen units even if we had the exact recipe.
The thing that didn’t actually go well for me was the crust color, too dark, and the spiciness. Even though so much pepper,I used 2 tb sweet and 2 tb hot paprika, it did not had that spicy kick. I believe there must be a chilly spice or something like that in the original.
Last, I also think tb is for teaspoons . Had enough spice to cover a couple of more batches.
Nothing like KFC
Very peppery
Very disappointed
It’s actually teaspoon, not tablespoon.
1) 2/3 Teaspoon of Salt
2) 1/2 Teaspoon of Thyme
3) 1/2 Teaspoon of Basil
4) 1/3 Teaspoon of Oregano
5) 1 Teaspoon of Celery Salt
6) 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
7) 1 Teaspoon of Dried Mustard
8) 4 Teaspoons of Paprika
9) 2 Teaspoons of Garlic Salt
10) 1 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger
11) 3 Teaspoons of White Pepper
6) 1 Teaspoon of Celery Salt
7) 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
8) 1 Teaspoon of Dried Mustard
9) 4 Teaspoons of Paprika
10) 2 Teaspoons of Garlic Salt
11) 1 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger
12) 3 Teaspoons of White Pepper
Mix the given amount of herbs and spices in a small bowl (No Flour)
Cut down the chicken into pieces, pour the whole spice mixture, and coat them evenly in a large bowl
Mix 2 cups of milk and 2 whole eggs and pour over the chicken
Cover the bowl and leave to marinate in a refrigerator for 12-24 hours
Mix the same given amount of herbs and spices with 2 cups of all purpose white flour
Take out each chicken piece and coat evenly in the seasoned flour
Dip each chicken piece back into the milk and egg mix and coat it in the seasoned flour once more
Heat a frying oil to 350F and fry for 10-12 minutes
I tried it your way Jay and it was absolutely spot on so thanks for posting this.
Hello,
I noticed some herbs and spices are duplicated in the above. Is that a mistake? For instance you have 1 tsp celery salt twice along with other duplicates? Please advise
I made a mistake when pasting the recipe. No repetition.
Yes, it happened when I copied and pasted it. Sorry.
After #11 it starts at #6 again. Weird.
Is this regular milk or buttermilk you’re using
Nothing like KFC?? Way to salty
These were really good but not kfc. Also, my chicken was still raw, so I had to stick it in the oven.
This did not work for me at all.The breading was wafer thin and I double-dipped it.
I’ve saved the leftover flour for pan fried fish, but it is nowhere near robust enough for chicken.
Taste was fine, certainly not KFC, though.
Halved the salt as plenty of celery and garlic salt. It was amazing. I wok fried for 5 mins then put in the oven to cook through 30 minutes Husband said it was better to Han kfc
Way, waaaaay too salty. Triple the amount of flour to everything else and lower the temperature of the oil. Start hot and then lower a bit. 15 minutes at high temperature will fossilise the coating.
I tried this today using soy curls instead of chicken. I do eat a wide variety of spices and cook many ethnic foods, so I’m always up for spice in my food, but this recipe seemed to have a ratio of too much spice to flour. Maybe it was due to the fact that soy curls are a lot smaller than a piece of chicken and would therefore have a much higher ratio of batter to soy curl? Not sure. It tasted ok, but not at all like KFC.
There is waaaaaay too much pepper in this recipe. Maybe American pepper is weak compared to Australian pepper, but for us it was almost inedible because of the overuse of pepper. Didn’t taste like KFC either. Don’t waste your time, just go buy some actual KFC.
It’s nothing at all likE KFC!! It does taste good, but not KFC!!
There’s also a LOT of salt in this recipe. Not only just salt alone, but also two heavily salty ingredients. Since I’m afraid of oversalting I cut the salt in half and I replaced “X salt” items with “X” only without the salt.
I’m so excited to find this recipe. Our family had to go gluten-free recently. I made this recipe using gluten-free flour and it turned out awesome!
Perfect
Hi Sabrina,
You only ask for 1 cup buttermilk. How can you soak 10 pieces of chicken in 1 cup of buttermilk? Even if you soak them one at a time in a small bowl it will take 200-300 minutes and you’ll run out of buttermilk. Are you sure you don’t use more cups of buttermilk?
Can’t wait to fry up this recipe soon, but would like advice on the buttermilk quantity.
Thanks a lot!
This is a copycat recipe and that’s what they use. Enjoy!
Sabrina,your Tony Roma coleslaw was perfect. I use everytime I need a recipe for coleslaw.
Thanks, Andy!
I’m going to rotiseritte a whole chicken with this seasoning tonight.
Enjoy!
love it better than kfc
I can’t find any buttermilk anywhere…. is there anything else I can do or use??
thanks, I love this recipe, my families fav!
You can always make your own by mixing 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using. Good luck!
Sounds good.
Can I use an air fryer?
I haven’t tested it using one. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
I just used it in an air fryer tonight. Just make sure there aren’t any dry spots before you put it in because some of the flour didn’t crisp like in an actual fryer. I also added half a tablespoon of onion powder to mine. Pretty good.
I just tried today, and yes, it cooked very well in my air fryer. But I didn’t use any milk nor liquid. Only flour, eggs and breadcrumb.
My air fryer doesn’t have any cold spot so far I know, but I cooked slowly the pieces at 160 °C for 30 minutes, and then 10 minutes at 200 °C to make it crispy, not without juggling the pieces a bit. Maybe I can reduce the time a bit for the slow cook.
I’ve learned of using cream of tart seasoning to make substitute buttermilk. I think 1 tbsp per cup of whole milk and mix together and it will get thick like buttermilk and tasted close ?
I only thawed 2 thighs for dinner, so I guesstimated, the amounts for the ingredients. They came out, very good. Thank you.
Sabrina
Would the result be different if I used a pressure cooker instead of a deep fryer.
I know KFC used the pressure cooker. (at least they did way back around 1980 or so)
I do not know if it was to do with flavor or if KFC just used pressure cookers because the chicken cooked faster.
So I guess my question is:
Does the pressure cooking change the flavor? Or the texture? Or anything else?
Mel Heinrichs
You’re right about it cooking faster as it breaks down the collagen faster but it also allows less moisture to be generated. I don’t think it would change the flavor though. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it works out for you and if you notice any other changes. Thanks!
Although the ingredients seem to be correct, the measurements are wrong. They should all be measured in teaspoons not Tablespoons. There is no buttermilk or eggs for original recipe only extra crispy. Dip in ice cold water before dunking in flour mix. Since you can’t duplicate the actual fry process at home. The best you can do is to deep fry in an open pressure cooker for 2 minutes. Make sure oil is between 350 and 360. Then close pressure cooker for 10 minutes. Then release the pressure and remove chicken. From start to finish cook time is 13 min. If you include the time it takes to release the pressure from the cooker.
I ran 23 kfc stores. …. I used to mix the flour in cement mixers…. your close but some of your procedures are wrong… the chicken never went in any milk or eggs… only was warmed in water then breaded….. shake off the excess flour… deep fry temps at 375 in a pressure cooker and browned for 2-3 minutes then capped sealed and cooked for 12 minutes… Pepsi co played with all the recipes and messed things up!
I think Sabrina is experimenting,I’ll try her recipe tonight,but with my GF rotiseritte.
I pressure fried at 350 degrees in a henny penny for 11 mins and it came out way to dark. The skin was over cooked but the meat was spot on. Would it be better to fry at 275 or 300 for a longer period of time to stop the coating from over browning??
if so for how long and at what temp ??
Hi! I haven’t tried it that way so I am not sure.
Hi Sabrina,
I want to try this recipe tomorrow after work. Do you recommend soaking in the morning then frying in the evening, or should I limit the buttermilk and egg soak to 30 minutes?
Thank you.
Either way would work 🙂
I have been working on flavor and texture and have found if I add my brine and a teaspoon of the herb mixture to a pressure cooker and pressure cook chicken for 6 minutes it takes longer by time you release pressure and get top off and then let chicken cool a few minutes then you can dip into the buttermilk and bread chicken then deep fry for 2 minutes and you are close to the original chicken.i am going to work on spices they seem a little off to me
so a little different but as i’m a vegetarian i tried this with quorn fillets instead of chicken. i must say im very impressed with the flavour of this recipie, i left out the dried mustard just due to not having any and next time would use a little less pepper i think but all in all a very nice recipie. not fussed that it’s not 100% kfc flavour but it is still a very tasty recipie in my opinion
Hi Ellie
How did you cook the veggie (quorn) fillets and for how long?
Thanks
Yes can I get good recipe for me to cook dinners n bake dinners pot lucks on how to make popcorn chicken
I gave this recipe 0 stars, its crap. Does not taste anywhere close to KFC, I wasted my time & spices on this so called “good” recipe. I don’t know & don’t care where the author got this recipe from, but it does not work. I realize no one has the real KFC recipe, except the owner of course, but this recipe is absolute crap, don’t waste your time or spices on this. I’ll stick to my own pan fried chicken from now on. Should have read the reviews first before trying this disappointment of a recipe.
That was uncalled for and unnecessary. Learn some manners.
Agree
Plenty of copycat recipes,just keep trying,dont complain.
The smaller chicken pieces cooked through well but the larger pieces were raw in the middle,Yep without the msg it still didnt cut the mustard for me,maybe I’ll add msg just to see how far off we are in terms of the taste,cheers.
WAY TOO MUCH WHITE PEPPER! Cant’t stop sniffing my nose is running!
The original KFC shops would precook the chicken in a pressure cooker first then coat and deep fry quickly to have nice crunchy tasty coating.
Not True. I was a cook at KFC. from freezer to warm water then into flour. Then into pressure cooker. vented at like 12 mins. Hung to rest above grease after a few mins. then on to racks and into warmers. I will say this was in ’83 when I was a cook for a few years.
I agree with Walt. I worked for KFC in 85. In fact, my boss was named Walt (Walt, is that you – was Covina, CA?). The pressure cookers also had a deep fryer component (all one unit) so the chicken was both fried and pressure cooked in one run. Then hung above the grease, then on to the racks and into the Crescor unit. FYI – the gravy was made from scratch using the flour bits from the fryers that would drop down into this catch spot along with some of the grease. Biscuits also scratch made as well as the cole slaw.
Would you please help me know the best way of making KFC chicken
I agree with Walt. I cooked for KFC way back in about 1969 or so. Walt’s description of the cooking procedure is pretty much exactly as I remember.
You’re both spot on! I worked there in the early 2000s and that’s exactly how it was done then too.
Also agree. Worked in a KFC through high school and college. KC–I remember having to make everything. Coleslaw was a mess to clean up after grinding 🙁
We were so excited to try this recipe. BUT it was NOT any where near the KFC chicken that we buy. We followed the recipe exactly and fried it in a deep fryer. So who ever gave you this recipe I don’t think was not giving you the real recipe. I don’t know what KFC chicken others are eating that makes them think this is the real recipe or even close to it . I would not waste any of the plethora of spices to try this. It was ok, but I am sorry I did not use my grandmothers wonderful southern fried chicken recipe instead. : (
Original recipe chicken needs to be cooked in a pressure fryer at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Heat the pressure fryer to 350. Put the chicken in larger pieces first. Make sure all the pieces are covered in oil. Stir gently after 2 minutes. Cap the lid and pressure fry at 15 psi for an additional 13 minutes (2.5 lb of chicken). Slowly release the pressure (be careful). You can put the fryer in cold water instead. That will automatically lower the pressure. Open the lid. Rack the chicken. Let the chicken drip for 2 minutes. Enjoy!!
Hi RJG
I remember cooking KFC back in the 80’s and your are absolutely right. We cooked the chicken in a pressure cooker. I have some questions for you though.
Did you by any chance use an Instant Pot for this? Would this this work in an Instant Pot. Do you know if the oil vapors would clog up the relief valve on the Instant Pot? If so, would one be able to clean the relief valve to an as new condition? I would love to try this recipe in my Instant Pot but I am worried about ruining the pot.
I have to agree with Diane 100%
Try putting seasoning on chicken,and rest a few hours,that’s what I’m trying tonight.
very good. taste was right on, not (exactly) like kfc but close.
this is not it thank you for trying
Was it hot, sweet, or smoked paprika?
Sweet
Not even close!
I agree. No one, not even KFC makes the original recipe anymore. Sad!
This is good fried chicken, but it no where near KFC’s chicken. If you really want a KFC taste, look elsewhere.
Agree with Roger. I’m not sure how recently people here have tried KFC, but while this has hints of OR, it’s not in the same zip code.
I don’t know if this is an exact replication of KFC’s 11 herbs and spices – mainly because I don’t eat there any more due to the excessive saltiness of their chicken – but boy, this is very close to what I remember! Definitely a keeper recipe.
AND if you’re trying to cut back on your sodium intake you can adjust it to taste. You can substitute celery seed and garlic powder, just reduce those measurements by about 1/2 to 2/3. But I did use the MSG!
I made this tonight for my family and it was very good. Really close to the original recipe. I followed the recipe but took others suggestions to halve the white pepper and I reduced the paprika to 3 Tbsp. Also I used 1 Tbsp salt and 1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder. I used bone in skin on chicken thighs. I did not marinate the chicken pieces. Instead I first put them in the flour and coated them very well and got the flour mixture in all the nooks and crannies. Then I dipped them in the butter milk and egg mixture and back to the flour again for another coat. I immediately put them in my deep fryer at about 300 degrees and cooked for 9 minutes. I had to cook them one at a time so after cooking I put them in a 225 degree oven on a cookie sheet to keep warm and also to make sure I got 165F through out the thigh. So here is my verdict. The skin and coating texture and crispiness was spot on like the original. The meat inside was cooked thru and juicy. The taste was great and really close to original recipe. However, the ginger, white pepper and garlic stood out a lot. So my next batch I plan on reducing white pepper to 1 Tbsp, ginger to 1 Tsp, garlic powder to 1 Tbsp and increase black pepper to 1.5 Tbsp. I also used the MSG as suggested in recipe. Overall this is a keeper. Make adjustments to your taste level and enjoy! Thank you for sharing!
Can this recipe be scaled down to directly season the meat for an overnight marinade?
I’ve not tested it so if you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
For someone who has cooked a couple million pieces of the Original Recipe there are a couple of differences. O.R. has always been cooked under pressure even back when Harland did it. Until technology started catching up, we used freeze dried milk and fresh eggs. Never buttermilk. Buttermilk did not come into the restaurants until the making of biscuits when they replaced the dinner rolls. Also, we just coated the chicken in the milk & egg dip to coat it. We didn’t marinate anything except for the Extra Crispy and that recipe change multiple times.
I worked as a cook at KFC in the ’80s. we never saw milk. I now assume it was powdered and in the flour mix. We thawed in warm water then into flour then into pressure cooker.
Whats the process now?
I used to work for KFC. All the seasoning are added to water and brined overnight.
Brine overnight lol. Where did you work? freezer to serving in 20 mins. No brine I ever saw.
Nope. Original Recipe was never brined overnight. Chicken went straight from freezer to flour/water mixture to pressure cooker. Extra-crispy chicken was brined in a tumbler that I believe took around 45 minutes and was a sloppy mess when retrieved out of the tumbler. But it was never brined overnight.
KFC perfected the use of the pressure fryer for making their fried chicken. Is that the same as a pressure cooker. I want to try making it authentically rather than a deep fryer or or regular fry pan.
Looking forward to use the recipe
Don’t bother. There is far to much pepper and taste nothing like KFC
KFC doesn’t even taste like KFC anymore. Worked there in my teens and today’s chicken taste’s nothing like the original when we cooked in individual pressure cooker pots.
NO. a pressure cooker is not the same as a pressure FRYER. the difference is in the temp.
Yes. The difference is they use a pressure cooker to fry their chicken. Seals in the juices and flavor.
I followed this recipe yesterday and have to say its pretty dam close to KFC, I did change the flour to 1 cup of 12 a cup of corn flour and 12 cup of rice flour to get a little more crispness ( Worked well) , I took advice from reviews and cut Black and White pepper to 12 tablespoon of Black Pepper and only one tablespoon of White pepper, I also cut down on the salt ( Personal Choice) to just a 1 tablespoon ( I use pink salt living here in India)
This recipe in my experience is great, the taste is as close as I have been able to come to replicating KFC at home . The family loved it.
Thank you, Judi!
Totally agree…I live in the Caribbean and it is all about highly seasoned food,tried this recipe and the family loved loved loved it.