Copycat KFC? Is the leaked recipe the real deal?
Copycat KFC? Is the "leaked" recipe the real deal? We put the recipe from the now famous Chicago Tribune article to the test and here's what we found!
Is this copycat KFC or is it actually much closer to the real thing? A few weeks ago, the Chicago Tribune published an article. They interviewed a nephew of Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise.
During the interview, the nephew, Joe Lexington, produced a family photo album that belonged to his aunt, Claudia. She just happened to be the second wife of the Colonel himself.
They leaf through he family album and at the end is a copy of her will. Attached to that is a hand written recipe with 11 herbs and spices to be added to 2 cups of flour.
Food websites and bloggers went crazy at the news! Numerous articles from practically every major news outlet and food site asking the question, "Is this the actual secret KFC recipe?"
For me the proof is always in the pudding, or in this case the fried chicken, so I set out to try the recipe for myself.
Testing the Copycat KFC recipe.
The first small batch I tried was a bit lacklustre because, like many, I mistook the abbreviation "Ts" as handwritten in the recipe to be teaspoons. The lack of depth of flavour revealed that the recipe definitely must have meant tablespoons.
One thing I noted from that discovery is that the total volume of herbs and spices is only a tablespoon shy of a whole 8 ounce cup. That's an incredibly high ratio (2:1) of seasonings to flour in a fried chicken recipe.
Since the ingredients are pretty commonplace, I began to suspect that the high volume of herbs and spices was actually the real "secret" to the recipe.
A couple of days later with a fresh chicken at the ready, I whipped up another batch of the coating and heated up my deep fryer. The result this time was much more like the franchise produced version. The depth of flavour was definitely there but lacking punch.
KFC readily admits that it does add MSG into the mix so for my 3rd attempt, I decided to try a small amount added to the regular recipe.
I decided on 1 tablespoon (15 grams) to add to the mix which is less than a gram per piece of chicken. I found the flour and spice mixture sufficient to coat 2 whole chickens cut into 9 pieces each.
The verdict?
I've since had 8 people taste test this final version. They all agreed that it did indeed come very close to tasting like the chicken from a KFC franchise.
Spouse says it tastes more like KFC in the states than in Canada. It's a distinction she has claimed for years, that the Canadian version is saltier.
I have no idea if they tweak the recipe for geographical taste. I actually doubt it, but Spouse remains steadfast in her belief.
Either way, I don't think that KFC has anything to worry about. Fast food fried chicken is ultimately convenience food.
Nobody looking for a quick meal is going to forgo the KFC drive-thru to spend an hour or so at home making the alternative homemade version.
Still, if your curiosity persists, either the handwritten recipe from the Chicago Tribune article, or my tweak of adding a little MSG to it, will produce a very, very, tasty fried chicken.
UPDATES:
March 28, 2019 UPDATE: We have continued to use this recipe many times since it was first posted to Rock Recipes. It is most often used for fried wings nowadays and the more I taste them the more I feel like this was the original recipe from back in the day.
Try them out the next time you have friends over and compare notes on their opinions.
NOTE: For an oven baked version of this recipe, just use the Instructions From This Recipe.
May 2020 Update: We have turned the herbs and spices for this recipe into a KFC seasoning that you can use on roast chicken too. FIND THE KFC SEASONING MIX RECIPE HERE.
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Copycat KFC? Is the leaked recipe the real deal?
Copycat KFC? Is the "leaked" recipe the real deal? We put the recipe from the now famous Chicago Tribune article to the test and here's what we found!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose white flour
- 2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 4 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 2 tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard powder
- 3 tablespoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon MSG, optional
- 7 lbs chicken
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Mix all of the herbs and spices together first, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture from spices that have clumped in storage.
- In a large bowl, add the herb & spice mixture to the flour and mix well until the spices are evenly distributed.
- Cut 2 whole chickens into 9 pieces each (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings, 2 side breasts and a centre breast)
- Dip each of the pieces in plain water, shake and dredge in the flour and spice mixture. Repeat for all of the remaining pieces. Leave the pieces to sit in the dredge for 10-15 minutes while the oil heats up. This will help the coating stick to the chicken better.
- Preheat a vegetable oil filled deep fryer to 340 degrees F
- Shake off the excess coating from the pieces and fry for up to 18 minutes for the largest pieces. Wings generally take 8-10 minutes, drumsticks about 12-15 minutes depending on size. I use a meat thermometer to test the pieces and remove them individually when they reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.
- Place cooked pieces on a rack that has been placed on top of a cookie sheet.
- Hold the cooked chicken in a 150 degree oven if you need to cook the chicken in multiple batches. In that Case I always start with the latest pieces and end with the smallest to minimize the time in the oven.
- For an oven baked version, just CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS FROM OUR OVEN FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE.
Notes
The flour and spice mixture I found to be sufficient for 2 whole chickens. If using only one, then spit the mixture in half and store one half in an airtight container until the next time you use it.
The original recipe in the article used fractions of tablespoons as measurement for some ingredients. I have converted those measurements to teaspoons in those cases, for ease of understanding and measuring.
NOTE If using MSG in the flour dredge you can cut the salt in the dredge by half if you like.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
18Serving Size
1 pieceAmount Per Serving Calories 213Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 102mgSodium 1082mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 38g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
I didn't try the recipe but I will agree with your wife anyway, there are very few foods, fast or otherwise, that are not at least slightly different between Canada and the USA.
Hello ,
Just a quick question, what does MSG stand for?
Thank you
Mono Sodium Glutamate. It's a flavour enhancer.
@Barry C. Parsons, And there is no truth to the rumors that it is bad for you. This rumor came from a single incident where a customer bought some Chinese food from a restaurant and claimed it made them ill.
@Barry C. Parsons,
@charlie, If your prone to migraines do not use msg, because it can trigger one.
@Barry C. Parsons, I have a very old container of the seasoning whose brand name is Accent. That's what I use when an ingredient calls for MSG. It's so old that I don't know if it's still sold under that name. Is that what you use for MSG?
Yes, Accent is MSG. No idea of shelf life but it's probably pretty long.
Hi Barry, I had a peek at the Chicago Tribune article--thanks for the link. Yes those are T's (tablespoons) in the handwritten formula. Rub the spices down with a spoon to squish down and release full fragrance before adding flour. But ya gotta superseason the flour for sure.
Hi Barry does this recipe have both celery AND garlic salt or is the garlic listed keen garlic powder. Also Chef Tod (forgot his last name( famous on the internet for hacking chain festaraunt recipes) tried to figure out KFCs secret spices) he did get them to reveal just one spice, they gave him pepper! But it's not just any pepper but " telecherry" pepper.
Your the second person to mention tele cherry pepper but I've never seen it. Might have to try that though. The recipe as written is exactly as written in the Chicago Tribune article mentioned. The only thing I changed was to make clear the measurements in tablespoons or an equivalent measurement of a partial tablespoon in teaspoons.
You can get Telecherry pepper in a grinder at Costco
Found this recipe yesterday and very eager to try it. Unfortunately celery salt and garlic salt aren't available here. I'll go for garlic powder I guess but have no idea what to substitute for celery salt.
Also curious, why didn't you use buttermilk and egg mixture? That article mentioned using it. But I'm totally okay with using water as it's less messy 🙂
Also curious if the chicken was brined or cooked before frying. Even brined for 4-5 hours my fried chicken came out rubbery and not cooked well from the inside while the crust outside was overcooked. I began using cooked chicken. Even if it's a bit rubbery, at least it's already cooked and crust came out good too. But I sort want that juicy and moist chicken from inside as well.
Egg changes the crust on the chicken significantly. Not that its a bad thing but KFC just doesn't use it, nor so they use buttermilk in current operations.
Perhaps the 4-5 hours brining wasn't enough. When I do brine I do it overnight. Be careful with temperatures. Cooking too quickly can result in a tougher piece of chicken.
I know that it has been months and you may have done it already or it is too late but there are already several recipies online which allow you to make celery salt. Really it just tastes like salty celery so mix dried celery leaves with salt or simply finely diced dried celery leaves and add extra salt to your mix, online recipies will give you a good idea on ratio
I made this recipe, buttermilk held the coating to the chicken better than water.
Tried this today some with water and some with buttermilk (soaked overnight).
No real difference in flavor, buttermilk did keep a little more of the flour mixture on the chicken.
The only comment I have is that it seems like KFC uses more black pepper. You can actually see
the specs on the chicken so I made another batch of breading but added 50% more black pepper.
It is very good the way it is, but for me the addition of more pepper made it taste more like KFC.
Thanks for posting the recipe.
If I decide to use the MSG should I cut all the different salts in half or just the table salt?
I's cut the table salt a little if it is a concern.
Thanks for the reply. I didn’t use tbe MSG on the first batch and it seemed like the flavor should have been a little more potent. I’ll add it the next time I give it a go. Also I brined over night and dredged with buttermilk. Thanks for the recipe!
I worked at kfc when i was 21 and remember adding an egg powder to the flour and spice mixture it was in a package the same size as the spice package. And did seem like a lot of spice so maybe try and add some egg to the mix.
Has anybody tried baking instead of frying or using an actifry?
when are we adding the 1/4 cup of vegetable oil? and to what, the flour and spices? I'm confused since there is no further mention of it and i'm a mechanic.
I'm confused. There is no 1/4 cup of oil stated in the recipe. The only oil used is to fill the fryer.
How much flour to use I can't find the amount. >:(
It's the first ingredient KJ.
Very close, but what I noticed right away was that this recipe has WAY more pepper than it should. KFC (in Canada at least) has no heat to it at all. And yes, I do agree that the Canadian version is saltier.
My wife always says that Canadian and American KFC recipes are different. She doesn't care much for the version north of the border but every time we are in the US we visit KFC at least once.
@Wayne,
I agree (UK speaking) here .
Slightly too much pepper , will.dial that back next time a bit and up the herbs slightly
As a starting point for adapting to personal taste its bang on !
@Wayne, Agreed. Waaaay too much pepper. I could hardly eat it.
How can you tweak this to oven bake it?
First I used two eggs with a1/4 cup of milk mixed together. I coated the chicken with egg/milk and then the mixture. Dipped it in oil. I then put the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes at 350, then flipped the chicken over and baked it another 30 minutes. And then another 15 minutes. It turned out really good. I did not use the msg. I did use cayenne pepper and more black pepper though.
This is unreal I made it but used cooking salt instead. When I put it in the oven I put foil over the chicken for 30 mins then took it off. Both my kids and my partner loved it, Ive tried it with all my friends and family some are complete KFC lovers and they could tell any difference between KFC and this recipe. In fact 7 friends said I had bought it from kfc they did not believe me till I Showed them how I cooked it.
Thank you so much wont be buying a KFC again thats for sure.
I forgot the foil made it very juicy with a great kfc crust.
@matt,
I tried this to "fake it " , while it was shut .
Once dialed in a little more to personal taste ..... I like you have had people tell me I've "bought it in ..."
Especially when I "fake" a twister wrap for any workmen onsite....
What goes round comes round