I stumbled across a leaked version of the world famous Kentucky fried chicken a few years back and had to try it out for myself. I was gobsmacked. It tasted like the old school, original recipe from my childhood back in the 70's. There has been so many changes to the recipe today it doesn't even resemble the original. Now granted I didn't have a oil pressure cooker to do this the same exact method, but the point was ... did the spices add up to that guarded family secret.. well let me tell you.. it does in fact. It's super delicious!
The recipe was enough to coat a full family size chicken drumsticks package with a little left over.
For the flour mix you'll need:
2 Cups Flour, sifted.
2 Tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 Tbsp dried Thyme
1/2 Tbsp dried Basil
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Celery Salt
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Dried Mustard
4 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Garlic Salt
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
3 Tbsp White Pepper
(Optional) 1 Tsp MSG
MSG is in a lot of good foods made today, 100% natural and even the human body produces 40gm of glutamate a day. It’s has widespread use in Asian cooking today with zero side effects that are so common in the U.S. Not to mention, KFC, McDonald’s, Chick-Fill-A & probably more use MSG in some of their recipes.
For the wet mix you'll need:
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg beaten in the buttermilk
**disclaimer** Use a quality Canola oil to replicate the taste when deep frying. Using other oils may change the flavor profile so do that at your own risk.**
1. Mix the spices and flour and separately mix the buttermilk and egg.
2. In a large mixing bowl place the chicken and coat with the buttermilk, let it sit at room temp for 20 minutes.
3. Drain excess buttermilk off the chicken and drop into the flour mixture, shake off excess flour mixture and repeat for the remaining chicken. Let it sit for 20 minutes, which is about the time it takes to heat up the oil.
4. In a Dutch Oven or other frying pot with high sides, heat up 3 inches of oil to 350F. Use a Candy thermometer or other means to track the temperature. The Oil will naturally drop in temperature when you put the chicken in there, the trick is to make sure it raises back up to 350 and stays there.
5. Every 4 minutes or so , flip the chicken so it doesn't burn on one side, cook at 350F for about 14 minutes. Remove the chicken into a container lined with paper towel to drain the oil and let the chicken rest. Repeat for the remainder of the chicken.
6. Serve hot and enjoy! You have just created the Secret recipe chicken...just don't tell anybody.
