I loved the Kentucky Fried Chicken of my childhood, the aroma was intense, the flavor was off the charts and I really miss the cracklin' gravy and soft rolls it came with. I used to go with my mother to pick up dinner from the store just so I could hold the warm bucket on my lap and inhale the aroma on the ride back home. Somewhere along the way as the company changed hands, the spice intensity "seemed" to diminish in volume. The KFC of today does not meet the aroma and flavor intensity of my youthful memories and it is sadly missed. Recently KFC has opened a campaign to "put the Colonel back in the chicken", my recommendation is that they "Put The Spice Back in the Chicken", that is all the campaign they need and word of happy mouths would give them back a larger share of the fast-food chicken market. Col. Harlan Sanders had a pride of product approach to his chicken, he was said to be equally picky about his gravy, and it showed. I don't think KFC will increase that spice to flour ratio again because that cuts into the profit, so those of us with a memory of that chicken, are forced to try and duplicate the chicken of our memories at home.
To recreate Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, I would have to know the blend of the seasoning that goes in their chicken. I have a pretty good pallet, however, isolating each spice in a big blend is beyond me. I would also have to own a pressure fryer which is only sold in commercial form and cost thousands of dollars, so unless I grab one at auction, it isn't happening. I decided to shoot for recreating the Extra Crispy Recipe of 1972. Going on my research, so far as I can tell, the following five ingredients are in the spice/herb blend that original recipe contains: White Pepper, Black Pepper, Sage, Coriander and Savory as well as a healthy hit of salt, so as you can see I come short of the 11 herbs and spices. Still, the above blend is a great base from which to launch a seasoning of one's own, but that is not my goal. I want the taste of my childhood.
In 1964, Colonel Sanders sold his chicken franchise to John Y. Brown, Jr, Jack C. Massey, Pete Harmon, and investors Lee Cummings and Harlan Adams, who in turn sold it to Pepsico, who in turn spun it off into Yum brands. I am not going to go into the entire history of the changing of the guard that brings us to today's KFC, you can read about it here: WikiPedia, HistoryofKFC. My concern is a 1984 lawsuit between KFC Corp and Marion Kay Co,. Inc. You see, Harlan Sanders was still operating restaurants up in Canada and felt the seasonings had been watered down. He turned to an Indiana company, Marion Kay to reverse engineer his seasoning blend. He was not able to tell Marion Kay what was in the blend for contractual and trademark reasons but to my taste buds, they hit the nail on the head in their recreation of the secret blend. You can read the lawsuit that later ensued here: KFC CORP. v. MARION-KAY CO., INC.
So what is the spice blend that Marion Kay created for Harlan Sanders? That I do not fully know, however you can purchase a container of it here: Marion Kay, Chicken Seasoning Plus 9 1/2 oz. Chicken Seasoning 99 X 25 oz. Now Marion Kay recommends 2 tablespoons of the spice blend be mixed with 4 cups of flour, I actually bumped it up a bit and did 3 heaping tablespoons of the spice mix with 1 tablespoon of fine popcorn salt. I used a deep fryer and some of the Colonel's breading techniques based on the way he did it in a YouTube video, which can be seen here: Colonel Sanders making chicken at the Clinton KFC
Joshua Ozersky a food writer and historian wrote about all of this in his book Colonel Sander and the American Dream. He is the source from which I heard about Marion Kay Spices, 99x Chicken Seasoning. You can purchase his book here: Colonel Sanders and the American Dream.
White pepper
Black pepper
Ground Sage
Ground Coriander
Savory
The first four ingredients are listed on the Marion Kay 99x Chicken Seasoning. He said "Savory" was an ingredient in a 1967 commercial which was pretty funny. Here: 1967 Scary Kentucky Fried Chicken Commercial Lie Detector full). He did not specify if that was winter savory or summer savory, so that is anyone's guess. Monosodium Glutamate is also an ingredient in the 99x, as well as copious amounts of salt. The rest of the ingredients are a mystery. You may want to try experimenting on your own if you are unable to purchase the Marion Kay blend. Below is a suggestion:
White Pepper
Black Pepper
Ground Sage
Ground Coriander
Ground Savory
Ground Rosemary
Ground Thyme
Ground Marjoram
Ground celery seed
Paprika (sweet)
Fine Plain Popcorn Salt
Accent Flavor Enhancer (monosodium glutamate)
White pepper, Black pepper, Ground Sage, Ground Coriander, Savory, crumbled dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram, celery salt, and fine plain popcorn salt. Accent Flavor Enhancer (monosodium glutamate)
For those who live in Indiana, Marion Kay does have a store for the public. It is located at:
The Marion-Kay Spice Store
1351 West Hwy 50, Brownstown, Indiana 47220
Mondays – Thursdays, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. (Eastern Time Zone)
(1-800-627-7423) or locally (812) 358-3000
So, to make the chicken here are the tools that I used:
The formula:
3 Tablespoons Marion Kay 99x Chicken seasoning.
1 Tablespoon Fine popcorn salt. (my preference, though Marion Kay sells a flake salt)
4 Cups of A/P flour, I used Gold Medal All Purpose Flour.
A good quality Pilgrims pride bird or any good quality chicken.
The brine:
Water.
Morton salt (table salt, for brining)
The equipment
Shallow, wide bowl for the egg/milk mixture
A large stainless steel bowl.
At least 2 raised cookie racks.
Sufficient number of casserole dishes to place under each rack to catch the flour and oil.
A deep Fryer (you can use a deep cast iron pot, cast iron conducts and hold heat well).
At least 2 raised cookie racks.
Sufficient number of casserole dishes to place under each rack to catch the flour and oil.
A deep Fryer (you can use a deep cast iron pot, cast iron conducts and hold heat well).
The Oil:
Peanut Oil (though I believe Sanders used vegetable oil).
Since I cannot duplicate the pressure frying process that forces the flavor of the seasoning and moisture into the bird I used a brining method. After cutting up my chicken, I took my large steel bowl and created a brine using a tablespoon of Morton salt and 2 tablespoons of the chicken seasoning in enough water to cover my bird. I first placed the spice in a small glass bowl with enough water to cover and microwaved it for one minute. Then I stirred the mixture and added ice to cool it. I then place my chicken in the large steel bowl, poured in the spice/water mixture and added cold water till the bird was covered. I let this brine in the refrigerator for 5 hours. After that, I rinsed the chicken in a colander and ran plenty of fresh water over the chicken to remove the salt and excess spice from the chicken. I dried the chicken with paper towels as a wet chicken will create a soggy crust.
Now you are ready to bread your chicken. Wash and thoroughly dry your large bowl. Place four cups of flour in your bowl and add 3 heaping tablespoons of 99x seasoning mix and a little less than a tablespoon of popcorn salt, whisk all ingredients well to incorporate. Keep in mind if you are using a different salt you are going to have to adjust this. Regular table salt tends to be heavy and falls to the bottom of the flour and doesn't make it onto the chicken, so I do not choose to use that. I did not buy any of the Marion Kay flaked salt so I felt that popcorn salt was a great alternative.
Toss your chicken in the flour/seasoning mixture to coat, you want to work it for about 7 turns to cover completely, moving each piece onto one of your raised racks as it is coated. Once all of your chicken has the initial flour coating, you are ready to build that crispy crust. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg/milk mixture and then place it back into your flour, I did this in batches of two pieces at a time, you do not want to crowd your chicken. Toss the chicken around using your hands to coat evenly and heavily, about 7 turns, move to the other raised rack. Allow the chicken to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes until the chickens coating begins to look like a moist batter. Toss each piece of chicken back through the flour/spice mixture to build an additional coat onto the chicken. Fry your chicken in small batches, again never crowd your chicken and cook for 20 minutes, 10 on each side with the exception of the wings which I fried for about 11 minutes at a consistent 350°F.
So now you might be thinking, what about that crackling gravy. This first time around I did not make the gravy, however, once my oil cooled, I removed the heating element from the fryer and rescued the crackling from the bottom of the oil and placed them in a container in the freezer. Each time I make this chicken I will rescue those crackling for the gravy with each preparation.
Update: I made some of the gravy and yes, it is the real deal.
If you would like to make Kentucky Fried Chicken Cole Slaw, I have posted a recipe on this site here: KFC Coleslaw, not a copycat... the formula is more simple than you think.
