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KFC secret recipe potentially revealed by the Colonel's nephew

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X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Recipe-for-KFC-s-fried-chicken-possibly-9180519.php

What started as a travel story for the Chicago Tribune has morphed into one of the biggest fast food recipe reveals: the original recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The story of the how the recipe was (literally) placed into a reporter's hands started simply enough. A reporter travelled to the Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum and met with Joe Ledington, the nephew of Harland David Sanders (AKA Colonel Sanders).

During the interview, Ledington showed off a family scrapbook with a handwritten recipe for fried chicken included among the family photographs and documents.

"That is the original 11 herbs and spices that were supposed to be so secretive," Ledington told the reporter when asked if this was THE recipe.

So, the original Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe has been chillin' this whole time in an old Colonel Sanders family scrapbook? Apparently.

The recipe reads:

11 spices — Mix with 2 cups white flour
1) 2/3 Ts salt
2) 1/2 Ts thyme
3) 1/2 Ts basil
4) 1/3 Ts oregano
5) 1 Ts celery salt
6) 1 Ts black pepper
7) 1 Ts dried mustard
8) 4 Ts paprika
9) 2 Ts garlic salt
10) 1 Ts ground ginger
11) 3 Ts white pepper

The Tribune's food staff was quick to test the recipe and deduced that the "Ts" measurement is shorthand for tablespoon, not teaspoon. The verdict? The recipe "is the real deal." The only addition the group felt was necessary to add to make it perfect, was MSG — confirmed as an ingredient by a KFC spokesperson.

(Another publication has since declared that the recipe has "too much paprika" to be the KFC recipe, but we'll leave that for the home cooks to judge.)

In a follow-up phone interview, Ledington walked back his earlier statement over the authenticity of the recipe, only saying that he helped make that recipe as a young boy for his uncle.

KFC's parent company, Yum! Brands, didn't confirm the recipe either—because of course they wouldn't—and instead said something to the tune of, "Everyone thinks they know what it is, but they don't."
Click to expand...

fhOJM8L.jpg
 
S

Semajer

Member
I'd be amazed if the recipe is still exactly the same as it was all those years ago. I have no doubt that it's been modified or had ingredients changed to try and make it more cost effective.
 
L

Lagamorph

Member
Can they even keep the recipe a secret? Don't food ingredients have to be publicly available anyway for health and safety reasons? Or was it just the ratio that was unknown until now?
 
F

FyreWulff

Member
Yeah they changed it for cost reasons, which is why the original Colonel had bad blood with them.

I swear they've had ad campaigns though where they acknowledge people have replicated the recipe but that it's faster to just get the chicken from KFC.

Lagamorph said:
Can they even keep the recipe a secret? Don't food ingredients have to be publicly available anyway for health and safety reasons? Or was it just the ratio that was unknown until now?
Click to expand...

It's an open secret, the exact measurements don't have to be officially known though, just the presence and the order from most to least in the product.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
If only chemists existed. We could find the recipe out very easily.

Obviously this is more for KFC trivia geeks than actually needing to know how to make their chicken.
 
L

Lightning_Roller

Banned
TheSeks said:
Nah, they're straight up gonna murder him.
Click to expand...

They do that and the vengeful spirit of the colonel will rise from his grave and go on a vendetta against those who struck down his nephew in:

KENTUCKY FRIED REVENGENCE: A COLONEL'S VENDETTA

Developed by Platnium games of course.

But seriously though, could they sue the nephew even though he holds the supposed recipe?
 
T

Torokil

Member
Lagamorph said:
Can they even keep the recipe a secret? Don't food ingredients have to be publicly available anyway for health and safety reasons? Or was it just the ratio that was unknown until now?
Click to expand...

They changed the recipe long ago. Sanders tried some KFC after he sold off the thing and lamented on how shitty it was.
 
S

sohois

Member
But it's just a pretty standard recipe. There are hundreds of similar fried chicken recipes on the internet if you so desired.
 
B

BadHand

Member
Why would anyone go through the aggravation of reproducing fast-food at home when you can produce much higher quality food from everyday recipes found online.
 
E

Ensoul

Member
Interesting if true but I'd rather just buy my friend chicken than make it at home and deal with the mess it entails.
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
The Tribune's food staff was quick to test the recipe and deduced that the "Ts" measurement is shorthand for tablespoon, not teaspoon. The verdict? The recipe "is the real deal." The only addition the group felt was necessary to add to make it perfect, was MSG — confirmed as an ingredient by a KFC spokesperson.
Click to expand...
How much MSG do we need?
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
BadHand said:
Why would anyone go through the aggravation of reproducing fast-food at home when you can produce much higher quality food from everyday recipes found online.
Click to expand...

Lots of fast food and restaurant food started off as home cooking.
 
E

Eusis

Member
Lightning_Roller said:
Oh shit...KFC bout to go outta business. Either that or more KFC like places start popping up.
Click to expand...
Preserving the legend is probably enough for them now combined with name recognition. Hell, name recognition is probably all they need now, sheer momentum means they could probably put out a full recipe book and go "whatever, if you want someone else making it we're still your choice."
 
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