Secret recipes

I’d say this comes pretty close. Particularly with the MSG – in South Africa we could use Aromat instead of Accent. I’d leave out the dried basil – it has a very distinctive bouquet (nothing at all like that of fresh basil) which I’ve never noticed in KFC.

Not that I think any decent chef would have a problem to produce something which is indistinguishable from KFC. It’s just that I think none of them would try. So ‘the secret’ is really an issue with kitchen kludges trying to imitate it. Not knocking KFC – I eat it myself, sometimes. And I don’t have a religious aversion to MSG either.

You’d also perhaps need to experiment a bit with parboiling the chicken in a pressure cooker, and a temperature controlled deep-fryer would be useful. Although I’d just marinate it for a day or so in buttermilk instead of pressure cooking – should run rings around KFC. But then it wouldn't be KFC, would it?

I prefer the first recipe, although the ingredients alone is probably irrelevant - the consensus being that it is solely the MSG and the high pressure deep-frying in a pressure fryer that produces the KFC experience, everything else be damned. If that is correct, then the oven bake of the second method will probably not be very much like Kentucky. Not saying it won't be good, just saying - not Kentucky.

The Word of Mouth KFC challenge


I see that Robertsons has a product called Zeal, which apparently is pure MSG. So maybe one should use that, rather than Aromat.

So, my take on it would be:
Marinate the chicken overnight in buttermilk.
Remove the chicken, heat the buttermilk to about 80 degree C and poach the chicken for about 20 minutes. (I'd need to actually do it to see if it will work - maybe add some normal milk to thin it a bit.)
Cool chicken in poaching liquid.
Use the first recipe, but omit the Basil and use 1/2 a teaspoon of freshly ground Cumin and a teaspoon of freshly ground Fennel Seeds instead. Use 'Zeal' where it says MSG. 
Remove chicken from poaching liquid and roll in flour/recipe mix.
Deep fry in a temperature controlled deep-fryer. I'd need to get one of those. I'd also need to experiment to get the perfect settings for temperature and time.

This will probably not be quite Kentucky either. I believe it will still deliver the Kentucky experience, but it will be noticeably better than Kentucky - much more succulent and tonnes more flavour. One must remember that the Kentucky process is one designed to deliver fast-food optimally.

I'd have to do the marinading and poaching, because I won't buy a pressure fryer, which will cook the chicken right through much faster under pressure and so keep the chicken soft and preserve the moisture inside. Marinating and poaching followed by a short high temperature deep-fry will do the same thing, just better.