KFC’s delicious finger-lickin’ good fried chicken is an iconic fast food that has captivated tastebuds for decades. But have you ever wondered how they make it so crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside? What goes on behind the scenes to create this legendary chicken? Let’s unravel the steps involved in making KFC’s famous original recipe chicken.
Sourcing the Chicken
It all starts with procuring high-quality fresh chicken KFC only uses young chickens raised specifically for their restaurants They work with trusted local farmers and suppliers who follow strict protocols for housing, feeding, and raising the chickens humanely. The chickens are free to roam in barns and have constant access to food and water. KFC’s suppliers are contractually required to adhere to animal welfare guidelines.
The chickens arrive at KFC weighing between 4-5 pounds This specific size and weight distribution ensures uniformity in cooking times and a consistent finished product Before arriving at restaurants, each batch goes through quality control checks for appearance and safety.
The Famous Secret Marinade
Once the chicken arrives at the restaurant, the magic begins. Each fresh chicken is cut by hand to KFC’s exact specifications and then marinated in 11 secret herbs and spices that make up the famous original recipe. Colonel Harland Sanders improved this original, top-secret recipe in 1940, and it hasn’t changed since.
While the exact 11 ingredients remain guarded in a vault, speculations abound around ingredients like salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, basil, oregano, thyme, celery salt, mustard powder, and more. The secret marinade deeply penetrates the chicken and gives it its quintessential flavor profile. The chicken is left to soak up the flavors in a controlled environment for a set duration.
Artisan Hand-Breading
After marinating, KFC’s skilled cooks carefully coat each piece of chicken in bread crumbs by hand. When you hand-bread chicken, you carefully dip each piece in the prepared flour mix to get that signature crispy coating. Some of the 11 secret herbs and spices that go with the marinade are in the flour blend. Hand-breading lets cooks coat chicken pieces evenly and give them a unique look.
To keep KFC’s standards high around the world, the hand-breading skill is taught through a lot of training. There are exact steps for how much flour to use, how to coat, and what order to bread things. KFC is proud to still do traditional hand-breading even though most chains use machines. This artisanal approach delivers superior texture and taste.
Pressure Frying to Perfection
The chicken is then put into a high-tech pressure fryer that is full of pure vegetable oil. Pressure fryers are better than open fryers because they cook chicken faster, more evenly, and with the right amount of crispiness. The pressure builds up and seals in the chicken’s natural juices and the marinade’s unique flavors.
KFC chefs monitor cooking times and oil temperatures carefully to achieve the perfect balance of a crispy coating with a juicy interior. Once done, the chicken pieces go through a cooling down process before rigorous quality checks. Rejected pieces get discarded or reworked.
Uncompromising Quality Control
KFC employs military-style quality control across all stages to ensure consistency in taste and quality worldwide. There are stringent protocols for ingredient and chicken inspections, marination, hand-breading, frying, and sampling. Cooks are trained to recognize perfect chicken pieces based on coating, color, crunch, and juiciness.
Multiple samplings are done every day per restaurant to maintain standards. KFC also conducts surprise audits on breading processes and kitchen safety. Technology like digital thermometers helps monitor frying oil temps and chicken doneness in real-time. With so much attention to detail, it’s no wonder KFC chicken comes out perfect every time!
Behind the Scenes of a Chicken Powerhouse
To summarize, making mouthwatering KFC chicken is a complex, multi-step process:
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Procuring plump young chickens raised humanely by trusted farmers.
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Marinating chickens in the secret 11 herb and spice original recipe blend.
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Hand-breading each piece to give a light, crispy coating.
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Pressure-frying to seal in flavors and ensure ideal texture.
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Rigorously sampling batches to maintain consistency.
While the secret recipe and cooking method have endured over the years, KFC continues to evolve with the times when it comes to sourcing, safety, and waste management. By combining timeless artisan techniques with modern technology and innovation, KFC manages to churn out finger lickin’ good chicken by the millions every day!
So next time you bite into a tasty Extra Crispy or Original Recipe piece, you’ll appreciate the complex journey that little piece of chicken has undergone to delight your tastebuds! The enduring popularity of this chicken across generations and geographies is a testament to KFC’s unmatched quality and iconic flavor profile.
StepsPart
- 1. Use a food processor to grind all the spices into small pieces. You can use this with your kosher salt, celery salt, garlic salt, dried herbs, ground black and white pepper, dried mustard, and paprika. Pulse the ingredients over and over until the herbs are all the same size and broken up. It tastes more real if you add 1/2 teaspoon of Accent Seasoning (MSG) for every pound (0. 45 kg) of chicken. MSG is a flavor enhancer, but its not very healthy. If you can’t find thyme or oregano, try marjoram and sage. [2] .
- 2 Whisk the spice blend into the flour. Put the flour in a large bowl, and then add the spice mix. Whisk the ingredients together until everything is combined. Set the bowl aside for later. [3] [4] Youll be placing your chicken pieces in this. At least one chicken breast or thigh should fit in the bowl. Advertisement .
- 3 Beat the egg and buttermilk in a separate bowl. Do not put them in the bowl with the flour and spice mix. Instead, crack the egg open in a different bowl and add the buttermilk. Mix the two things together with a whisk until the egg yolk is broken up and there are no more streaks. Fifth, make sure the bowl is deep enough to hold all of your chicken pieces.
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Frying the Chicken
- 1. Put at least 5 inches (13 cm) of vegetable oil in a pot or deep fryer. It’s important that the oil is deep enough to cover the chicken pieces. [12] Plan on using about 2 quarts (1. 9 L) of oil. You can use another neutral-tasting oil. Avoid olive oil, however, as the flavor is too intense.
- 2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 °F (177 °C). Do not leave the fryer for a while, even if it takes a while. When the oil starts to heat up, it will quickly become very hot. To find out how hot the oil is, use an oil or candy thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, put the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil. When bubbles appear around the handle, the oil is ready. [15] .
- 3. Fry the chicken in 12 to 18-minute chunks. In 12 to 14 minutes, the breasts and wings will be done. It will take about 15 to 18 minutes for the legs and thighs. 16, Check the temperature inside the chicken. It’s done when the temperature inside the chicken reaches 165 °F (74 °C). Use a meat thermometer to gauge the temperature. [17] The oil should be deep enough that the chicken pieces fry evenly, so you don’t have to turn them. Put the chicken in a fryer basket, but don’t pack it too full, and then dip the basket into the hot oil. This will make it easier to take the chicken out of the basket. [18] .
- 4. Move the chicken to a wire cooling rack using metal tongs. Put a baking sheet under the cooling rack to catch any oil drips and keep your counter clean. When the chicken is cool enough to touch, it’s ready to be served! [19] Don’t put the chicken on toilet paper or newspaper. This will keep the steam inside, which will make the chicken soft. Take the fryer basket out and hook it over the edge of the deep fryer if you used one. Use tongs to pull the chicken pieces out.
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How KFC Chicken is Made in a Factory | Chicken Factory Process
FAQ
How do you make KFC chicken?
If you’ve ever wondered how to make KFC™ chicken, the secret is here. Preheat fryer to 350°F. Thoroughly mix together all spices. Combine spices with flour, brown sugar and salt. Dip chicken pieces in egg white to lightly coat them, then transfer to flour mixture. Turn a few times and make sure the flour mix is really stuck to the chicken.
Is KFC Original Recipe Chicken a copycat?
A food reporter got the KFC Original Recipe Chicken recipe from Colonel Sander’s nephew and published it again with all 11 herbs and spices. This is a perfect copycat!
Is KFC chicken real chicken?
Yes, the chicken served at KFC is real. It is Canadian farm raised chicken.
How is KFC fried chicken made?
KFC fried chicken is made by first marinating chicken pieces in a buttermilk mixture, then coating them in a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices mixed with flour, and finally pressure frying the chicken until golden brown.
Does KFC fry or bake their chicken?
Their extra tasty crispy style of chicken is just plain deep fried, but they have a special type of pressure cooker for their original recipe chicken.
Is KFC chicken made in a lab or lab?
The company told USA TODAY it does not use the method itself. “These allegations are false,” said Tyson Foods spokesperson Derek Burleson. “Tyson Foods does not sell any cultured meat products. ” Africa Check previously debunked a claim that KFC was using lab-grown meat in its products.