Julie Van Rosendaal makes KFC's leaked fried chicken recipe
Danielle Nerman | CBC News | Posted: August 30, 2016 7:46 PM | Last Updated: August 30, 2016
'There's not enough salt in this,' says Calgary Eyeopener's Angela Knight
There's been a rumour swirling around the fast-food world that Colonel Sanders' fried chicken recipe has been discovered.
A reporter from the Chicago Tribune claims he saw the original, handwritten recipe in a scrapbook at the Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum in Kentucky. Then he went ahead and published it.
- KFC denies secret chicken recipe has been revealed
- Donald Trump invites ridicule for eating KFC with a knife and fork
So, is it as finger lickin' good as what you would get at the KFC drive-thru? The Calgary Eyeopener decided to put the leaked recipe to the test.
Well, Julie Van Rosendaal made it — and they ate it.
Not the real deal
Everyone on the Calgary Eyeopener agreed that the leaked recipe was not the real deal.
"I've had a lot of KFC and there's not enough salt in this. The recipe is still in the vault," said CBC Calgary traffic reporter, Angela Knight.
Van Rosendaal thought it was strange that the coating called for ground ginger and thought it was "unusually spicy" for a fried chicken recipe.
But maybe that's the way Colonel Sanders made it back in 1940.
"My guess is that it's gone through a few variations," said Van Rosendaal. "This could be the original recipe, but I'm not sure that it reflects what you'd buy if you walked into a KFC today."
KFC says it is fake and the original recipe is locked up in a digital safe encased in two feet of concrete and monitored 24 hours a day by a video and motion detection surveillance system.
Homemade KFC recipe
2 whole 3-4 lb. (1.4 kg) chickens, cut into 20 pieces
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, shaken
1/3 cup water
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 Tbsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. thyme
1/2 Tbsp. basil
1/3 Tbsp. 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
4 cups (1 L) peanut or canola oil, for frying
Method
Take your chicken out of the fridge and leave it on the countertop for half an hour to take the chill off before you start to cook. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together the buttermilk, water and egg. In another dish, stir together the flour and 11 herbs and spices.
Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip in the buttermilk mixture, letting the excess drip off. Dredge in the flour mixture, and set aside on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Repeat the process, re-dipping each piece in buttermilk, then in the flour mixture, pressing on the wet pieces of batter that work their way into the mixture.
In a wide pot, heat a couple inches of oil to 325 F. (It should be hot, but not smoking; a scrap of bread or a bit of the breading should sizzle when dipped in.)
Cook 3-4 pieces at a time, without crowding the pot, for 10-14 minutes. The larger pieces will take a few minutes longer, and the white meat will cook more quickly, turning with a fork or tongs as they turn golden.
Set aside on another rack set over a baking sheet while you finish the rest. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken, without touching the bone. The cooked pieces should register 160 F.
With files from the Calgary Eyeopener