FOOD KFC Copycat Fried Chicken: Better Than the Colonel’s

[SIRR1]

I love fried chicken, but I am not crazy about KFC fried chicken, I have to run to the restroom an hour after eating KFC!

It's not bad please don't get me wrong but I like the my fried chicken much better than KFC and it is real close to how the fellow in this article "Boyce" cooks his fried chicken, plus I don't get sick after eating my fried chicken either...

SIRR1

Juicy fried chicken that's better than KFC's?

"Everybody has eaten Kentucky Fried Chicken, and if they tell you they haven't, they are lying," James Boyce, chef/owner of Commerce Kitchen in Huntsville, Alabama, tells Yahoo! Shine.

"The crust is perfect every time." Although Boyce has dug into his share of buckets, especially during his teens and early twenties (he remembers the coleslaw and biscuits as "winners"), when he first opened his clubby chophouse, Commerce Kitchen, he wasn't planning on serving fried chicken. But, being Alabama, "every one asked for it."

Boyce started researching how to make classic Southern fried chicken at the local library.

"They have an amazing archive of recipes," he explains. As everyone knows, the KFC recipe, developed by Colonel Harland Sanders, is still a mystery, and supposedly locked in a safe at company headquarters.

Although some food sleuths claim to have identified the eleven secret herbs and spices used in the original, others say that KFC changed the recipe to plain old salt, pepper, and MSG when Sanders sold the chain back in 1964. Not so finger lickin' good.

Boyce developed his succulent, crispy fried chicken by playing with traditional recipes and experimenting with the cooking process, eventually settling on a nine-spice blend and a slower fry.

"What's great is how moist it stays," he says.

"It takes a little longer but develops a beautiful crust and cooks evenly down to the bone." His method is especially appealing to home cooks who are intimidated by the idea of deep-frying.

While you can use a screen to protect from splatters, Boyce says, "If your stove is getting covered with grease, your heat is too high."

Commerce Kitchen Fried Chicken (adapted from James Boyce)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons pepper

4 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon French thyme, ground

1 tablespoon dried sweet basil, ground

1 teaspoon oregano, ground

1 tablespoon Jamaica ginger, ground (regular ground ginger will work too)

2 cups buttermilk

2 2 ½- 3 lb. chickens, cut into 8 pieces each

Vegetable oil for frying (canola and peanut oil work too)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Set aside.

Put chicken and buttermilk in two large plastic Ziploc bags or a flat dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, turning every 30 minutes. This tenderizes the meat as well as removes any blood.

When ready to cook, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk, shake off excess liquid. Toss with dry ingredients. The chicken should be lightly covered, but it's okay if there are a few missed spots. You can also shake chicken with the dry ingredients in a large Ziploc bag.

Fill a large, heavy bottomed skillet or deep pot with enough oil to cover halfway up the largest piece of chicken. Heat oil to 325-350 degrees. If you don't have a cooking thermometer, wait for small bubbles to form.

Adjust heat so the oil bubbles are steady but not too rapid. Working in two or more batches, place the coated chicken in the hot oil. After about eight minutes, the chicken will be golden brown underneath. Turn over once and cook for an additional eight minutes or until nicely browned on both sides. The cooking process will agitate the pieces slightly, so you don't need to shift them around in the pan.

After frying, place chicken on a metal sheet tray covered in a paper towel and transfer to 200-degree oven to keep warm until serving. The chicken will stay moist for up to an hour.

http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/kfc-copycat-fried-chicken-better-colonel-8217-114000674.html

 

[Satanta]

I'll give that a try. I've developed a batter for my onion rings that the wifey loves. Spicy to go with the sweet onion but my chicken leaves a bit to be desired-the crust never stays on.

 

[VesperSparrow]

Hooter's Nuclear hotwings....yum....
or Popeye's Spicy bubby with a biscuit....

never could do the KFC or Church's....

 

[momof23goats]

I like my own fried chicken.Never had complaints.

 

[Satanta]

Hooter's Nuclear hotwings....yum....
or Popeye's Spicy bubby with a biscuit....

never could do the KFC or Church's....

Never had the Hooters wings. Worked for a travel plaza in Florida so was eating Popeyes a LOT.

I'd love to know what the spice is used on some of the hot wings I've had-one set even just almost too hot for me.

Had to eat them in small amounts and trust me-I can eat Habaneros like candy.

 

[VesperSparrow]

You and Ms. Sat oughta go get some of those wings. Clear your sinuses right up. I just couldn't go no higher than that (yet)...but I will...and when I do you will know it by my typing in FIRE...

 

[Shinmen Takezo]

Commerce Kitchen Fried Chicken (adapted from James Boyce)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons pepper

4 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon French thyme, ground

1 tablespoon dried sweet basil, ground

1 teaspoon oregano, ground

1 tablespoon Jamaica ginger, ground (regular ground ginger will work too)

2 cups buttermilk

2 2 ½- 3 lb. chickens, cut into 8 pieces each

Vegetable oil for frying (canola and peanut oil work too)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Set aside.

Put chicken and buttermilk in two large plastic Ziploc bags or a flat dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, turning every 30 minutes. This tenderizes the meat as well as removes any blood.

When ready to cook, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk, shake off excess liquid. Toss with dry ingredients. The chicken should be lightly covered, but it's okay if there are a few missed spots. You can also shake chicken with the dry ingredients in a large Ziploc bag.

Fill a large, heavy bottomed skillet or deep pot with enough oil to cover halfway up the largest piece of chicken. Heat oil to 325-350 degrees. If you don't have a cooking thermometer, wait for small bubbles to form.

Adjust heat so the oil bubbles are steady but not too rapid. Working in two or more batches, place the coated chicken in the hot oil. After about eight minutes, the chicken will be golden brown underneath. Turn over once and cook for an additional eight minutes or until nicely browned on both sides. The cooking process will agitate the pieces slightly, so you don't need to shift them around in the pan.

After frying, place chicken on a metal sheet tray covered in a paper towel and transfer to 200-degree oven to keep warm until serving. The chicken will stay moist for up to an hour.

This is the single most import post on any single thread in the history of the internet.

ST

 

[bw]

Popeye's Spicy

Ahh, I do miss Popeye's. A party in your mouth.

 

[Zulu Cowboy]

Didn't all the fast food places like KFC and McDonalds replace their cooking oil a few years back?
Seems like I recall something about them switching to an oil that is lower in Trans fat... LINK
All I know is, the KFC chicken that I buy today, tastes nothing like the fried chicken I used to eat as a kid.
Which is why I don't patronize my local KFC much anymore...

Zulu Cowboy

 

[VesperSparrow]

Commerce Kitchen Fried Chicken (adapted from James Boyce)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons pepper

4 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon French thyme, ground

1 tablespoon dried sweet basil, ground

1 teaspoon oregano, ground

1 tablespoon Jamaica ginger, ground (regular ground ginger will work too)

2 cups buttermilk

2 2 ½- 3 lb. chickens, cut into 8 pieces each

Vegetable oil for frying (canola and peanut oil work too)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Set aside.

Put chicken and buttermilk in two large plastic Ziploc bags or a flat dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours, turning every 30 minutes. This tenderizes the meat as well as removes any blood.

When ready to cook, remove chicken pieces from buttermilk, shake off excess liquid. Toss with dry ingredients. The chicken should be lightly covered, but it's okay if there are a few missed spots. You can also shake chicken with the dry ingredients in a large Ziploc bag.

Fill a large, heavy bottomed skillet or deep pot with enough oil to cover halfway up the largest piece of chicken. Heat oil to 325-350 degrees. If you don't have a cooking thermometer, wait for small bubbles to form.

Adjust heat so the oil bubbles are steady but not too rapid. Working in two or more batches, place the coated chicken in the hot oil. After about eight minutes, the chicken will be golden brown underneath. Turn over once and cook for an additional eight minutes or until nicely browned on both sides. The cooking process will agitate the pieces slightly, so you don't need to shift them around in the pan.

After frying, place chicken on a metal sheet tray covered in a paper towel and transfer to 200-degree oven to keep warm until serving. The chicken will stay moist for up to an hour.

This is the single most import post on any single thread in the history of the internet.

ST

That sounds good....but i bet you could dump all those dry spices into some Bisquick flour and that would be so good...

 

[2ndEviltwin]

Yes all the fried chicken places changed their oil to something a little more "healthy" made everthing have a weird taste. I remember eating kfc as a kid. It was great then, but not so much anymore. I have to try that one out.

 

[SIRR1]

That sounds good....but i bet you could dump all those dry spices into some Bisquick flour and that would be so good...

VS I use a 50/50 mix of Bisquick and plain cheap inexpensive white flour along with spices when frying up chicken and it's better than flour alone imho.

Also places like KFC, McDonalds use automated sealed pressurized deep fryers to help keep the "meat moist" and prevent under and over cooking by their highly trained staff.

Not sure what Popeyes uses to fry because I think they use a basket and simply deep fry behind the counter IIRC.

These automated fryers also strain the cooking oil several times a day and add new oil to prevent burning which allows the oil to cook more food than in the past saving money.

Modern Marvels did a show on deep frying and they showed KFC's new wonder fryers that take out the guess work in frying chicken, hmmm I wonder what KFC does with the cheif cook in every store that they proudly promote in their commercials?

meat moist/moist meat sounds sexual, sorry!

SIRR1

 

[Kook]

It may sound crazy, but he best fried chicken I've ever had was at Ryan's Restaurants. They simply cannot be beat. I will try this recipe though, sounds scrumptious.

 

[Troke]

That is true, KFC and others were forced to change their cooking oil. (I think they were using beef tallow)

DD was in Ireland for a period, got to really like KFC. Came home and was appalled at the horrible flavor. Tried two different sites thinking it was the restaurant. It wasn't.

Never forget. In a properly regulated society, there will always be a 3rd party between the producer and the customer. It is that party's responsibility to see to it that the item produced is Politically Correct. The fact that the customer may not like it or the producer can't produce it is totally irrelevant.

 

[Red Baron]

Many many years ago KFC became popular because fast food was pretty much only hamburgers and hot dogs. KFC was decent chicken back then and even the mashed potatoes and gravy were OK.

Somewhere along the line the quality of KFC took a nose dive. The chicken was soggy, slimey and cold. It really looked like very low grade chicken. The side dishes resembled institutional food. The mashed potatoes were somehow worse than instant. I haven't been to KFC in the last 20 years, not even out of curiosity.

Popeye's turned up a few years near us and I am constantly amazed how good it is. The chicken is moist and the batter is light but flavorful. The mashed potatoes and gravy are surprisingly good. The red beans and rice vary a bit however.

We haven't yet found a Brown's Fried Chicken in SE WI but my all time favorite is their deep fried chicken livers and gizzards. Not politically correct but they are awesome.

I have always fought the urge to get my own deep fat fryer. All I would do all day is make livers and gizzards .....

 

[gunnersmom]

If you want something a little easier, I put a packet of the dry Italian Seasoning in a cup of flour. Dip the chicken in the flour, then a milk and egg mixture and back into the flour. Place in the oil for the 8 mins each side. I use only a cup because there are just the two of us. A pack of the seasoning works with more flour added after the initial dip because you get the good seasonings in the under coat.

A buttermilk soak does make the chicken taste better.

We love the taste of this chicken, and it's good for baking chicken as well. We just had this for dinner last night with mashed potatoes and cole slaw. Hubby took the leftovers in his lunch.

 

[FarOut]

SIRR1 said:

I love fried chicken, but I am not crazy about KFC fried chicken, I have to run to the restroom an hour after eating KFC!

If you've read any articles on the nutritional characteristics of fats you know that some are more resistant to oxidation than others. But all fats will oxidize (turn rancid) eventually on exposure to air and heat. Consider this: all chains serving deep-fat fried foods reuse their cooking fats. They never throw them away. After a few days of use all the fat is oxidized. Every bit of it. The fat is then passed through a fiber and activated charcoal filter to remove the rancid flavor and any carbonized fat but it does not remove the oxidized fat (it can't or there would be no fat left) and new fat is added to make up for the fat absorbed by the food. What you're eating is food cooked in 90% rancid fat and 10% just-added fresh fat.

Oxidized fat is the worst thing you can eat; it is a killer of the energy processes in your mitochondria (the part of your cells that produce energy) and a destabilizer of all cell membranes. What happend to SIRR1 is the best outcome; the body refuses to absorb the fat. What happened to me is actually worse; a few hours later I got a terrible headache and I was overwhelmingly tired for the rest of the day, which means my body absorbed and tried to metabolize the fat. After a few experiences of this I did some research and when I found out what KFC and other chains were doing I stopped eating any commercially-prepared deep-fat fried foods.

Oxidized fat is a slow metabolic poison. If you don't prepare the food youself using fresh fat don't eat it. You're slowly poisoning yourself if you do.

 

[Melodi]

Interesting, I don't really like KFC here in Ireland, the don't do extra-crispy and instead of all the wonderful side orders in the US like: mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, beans, bisquits etc they have a nasty clone of French Fries. I've eaten their a few times over the 16 years we've lived here (including once in the North) and now just don't bother; not that we eat out a lot anyway, but I can see why if your daughter LIKED the Irish version of KFC, they are unlikely to like the American one.

Fast food chains DO change their basic recipes somewhat to suit local tastes and KFC here tastes like what the Irish Think American fried chicken tastes like. In England it is only slightly better, but still a near 0 on the good side orders, just a few more weird kinds of chicken (like "popcorn" pieces) and still no "extra crispy."

The buttermilk technique works on oven-fried chicken too (I do it all the time) and for pan friend chicken you can also get rid of some of the oil by cooking for 10 to 20 minutes in a hot oven on a rack over a pan to catch the excess oil. This is similar to the effect of sitting under a heat lamp at a KFC or other food outlet.

 

[Emily]

I like my own fried chicken.Never had complaints.

I'd love your recipe. Are you willing to share?

 

[Troke]

Heh..I have had KFC in the Czech Republic and it was not bad. Our guide thought we'd like some 'American' food. We were aghast, we had traveled across a quarter of the world to get some Czech soul food. Luckily she had that served up at the next meal. And when we stopped at my ancestral family home, we got served Bohemian munchies so we did OK.

My daughter ate at a Dublin KFC. Maybe it is different there.

But the food police are constantly dinking with the menu's at fast food places. And the dink is never a plus.

 

[Lurker]

I think there's a trick that if you add either baking soda or powder (forget which one) to the mix it will make the coating a bit more crispy.

 

[Grammytomany]

I love fried chicken and I would dearly love a deep fryer. Dreaming tho'. I do not do it often as I don't re-use the oil and it is expensive. I cook it in a black iron skillet that has been through many generations. That is the best that I can come up with. I like soaking it overnight in the fridge in buttermilk too. Not so much for the taste as for keeping the moisture in the chicken. I do make great onion rings. :-) Thanks for the recipe. I will try it next time.

 

[BertaBurtonLake]

Here is the South, there are as many recipes for making fried chicken as people who make fried chicken.....and everyboy's is "the best". LOL

If you like your fried chicken with a spicy flair (a la Popeye's or Bojangles'), as my family does, here is my recipe. If you don't care for the spicy, just leave out the cayenne.

16 pieces of chicken
2 quarts of water
3 rounded Tbsp Kosher or sea salt
2 rounded tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 Tbsp Kosher or fine sea salt
2 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp rubbed sage (dried, finely ground)
3 Tbsp finely ground black pepper
1- 2 Tbsp ground cayenne pepper, depending on taste

Dissolve the salt in the water in a large bowl and stir in the cayenne pepper. Add the chicken pieces and stir them around a couple of times. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and as long as 6.

Mix all the dry ingredients well in a large zipper-top bag or paper bag, shaking well to assure even distribution of the seasonings throughout the flour. Bring 1- 1 1/2" of peanut oil in a large, deep, cast iron skillet to 325-350 over medium high heat. You can use a deep fryer if you have one. I don't have one so I use my great-grandmother's 'chicken skillet'. While the oil is heating, drain the chicken in a colander. Put several pieces in the bag of seasoned flour and shake to coat thoroughly and evenly. Gently shake off the excess before placing the chicken in the skillet, skin side down. Fry, uncovered, for 12 minutes on the first side. Turn chicken and fry an additional 10 minutes on the second side. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels or newspaper placed on a cooling rack.

 

[Emily]

I think there's a trick that if you add either baking soda or powder (forget which one) to the mix it will make the coating a bit more crispy.

"You can use baking soda only if you're making a batter that contains an acid like buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, etc. As has been noted - it needs an acid to activate it before it will do anything.

If you are going to be breading (dredge the chicken in flour, then in a milk and/or egg wash, then roll in flour again) you should use baking powder which contains baking soda and the acids needed to activate it. Use 1.5 teaspoons baking powder per 1 cup of all purpose flour. "

http://www.discusscooking.com/forum...oda-to-make-fried-chicken-crispier-62278.html

 

[PghPanther]

Fast food fried chicken chain restaurants are a government CIA covert plot to create inner city flash mobs confrontations..................................

 

[Border Guns]

It's the MSG in foods that give you the hershey squirts about a half hour after eating. Years of this experience have made me very gun shy when trying a new restaurant. Some times they will lie to your face denying they use it. Have had some very bad public results. Don't ask.

 

[Abdon]

mmm, A Popeye's chicken breast and a whole pickled jalapenos. The perfect lunch.

 

[Emily]

I just cooked up this recipe and it was fantastic.

The two tweaks I did to it were:
I added 2 tsps of baking soda and I reduced the dry mustard to 1 tsp instead of the tablespoon it calls for. I know that mustard can be very strong and overpower so I held it back.

The chicken was marinated in the buttermilk for 5 hours.

 

[homepark]

Lard for fried foods. No better fat............yee haw!

 

[rugmaker]

I just made this recipe and it was great. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sliced them half inch thick. I had to cut the recipe in half, but did add the soda. They looked like McNuggets, but thankfully didn't taste like them. I loved all the spices. It was an easy fried chicken. The small size cooked quickly. Homemade mashed potatoes and lots of gravy. Green beans with bacon and biscuits. Everyone was stuffed and satisfied. I think this coating would be good for pork chops too.

 

[Thomas Paine]

Hooter's Nuclear hotwings....yum....
or Popeye's Spicy bubby with a biscuit....

never could do the KFC or Church's....

They Have food at Hooters?

 

[Y2kO]

Lard for fried foods. No better fat............yee haw!

And it's better for your health than GMO canola transfat.

 

[DryCreek]

Around here, the best fried chicken award always seems to go to Chicken Express.
I can't say, as for the last ten years I haven't had any real fried chicken. We pull the skin and fat off and use an oven baked coating mix. Yeah, "oven-fried" chicken is really kind of an oxymoron.

All I know is that everyone here raves about "Chicken-E" and their iced tea.

 

[frazbo]

Lard for fried foods. No better fat............yee haw!

Yessiree bob..just finished canning up a whole boat load of lard from the piggy we got...can't have decent bisquits without it!