And tonight I made a batch of this recipe. Protip: if you use chicken breast tenders instead of a whole chicken cut up into parts, fry at 300 F or so instead of the 350 given in the recipe because otherwise you'll burn the coating without fully cooking the chicken inside. (Which actually kind of comes close to what actually happens inside a KFC fryer -- it starts at 400 which browns the coating, then drops to 250 because of the moisture in and temperature of the chicken, and cooks at that temperature for the rest of the cycle.)
Anyway, it came out really well. It's a bit spicier than I remember KFC ever being, but for at least 40 years now the formula for the KFC coating has basically been flour, salt, pepper and MSG, as documented in the 80s by William Poundstone in his book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Secrets]Big Secrets. Also, this recipe is richer than the original, as Col. Sander's patent on the frying process uses reconstituted skim milk as the soak, not buttermilk and egg. Just make sure you have big jars of spices, as -- in case you haven't noticed -- everything is measured in tablespoons. I almost emptied a jar of white pepper making tonight's dinner.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Anyway, it came out really well. It's a bit spicier than I remember KFC ever being, but for at least 40 years now the formula for the KFC coating has basically been flour, salt, pepper and MSG, as documented in the 80s by William Poundstone in his book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Secrets]Big Secrets. Also, this recipe is richer than the original, as Col. Sander's patent on the frying process uses reconstituted skim milk as the soak, not buttermilk and egg. Just make sure you have big jars of spices, as -- in case you haven't noticed -- everything is measured in tablespoons. I almost emptied a jar of white pepper making tonight's dinner.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.