KFC is opening its door to show fans how to make its perfectly crispy fried chicken at home. For 3000 lucky customers in the UK, they’ll learn the steps that go into creating its famous burgers and on-the-bone pieces of fried chicken. The only thing Colonel Sanders won’t be sharing… his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.
Step 1 Prep, prep, prep
The first step is to get the right pieces of chicken for frying. KFC uses raw on-the-bone chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings, as well as rib and keel pieces in its buckets (although these are harder to come by in the supermarket). KFC fries up 2,000 pieces of chicken per restaurant every day but you’ll probably only need about four to six pieces per person.
Step 2 Mix your flour and spices
While KFC won’t be revealing its famous secret herb and spices blend (not even the staff know – it’s locked away in a secret vault in the US), you can use our not-so-secret blend. The spices are mixed into flour which coats the chicken and becomes the crispy batter.
Step 3 Batter up
KFC has a very specific way of coating its chicken. First, fill a large tray or bowl with the flour and spice mix, then toss the raw chicken through it.Next, scoop the flour underneath the chicken, then fold it over, so the mix really sticks to the chicken.
Step 4 Shake it off
Gently shake every piece of chicken to get rid of excess flour and spice mix. Next, tap two chicken pieces together, without letting the meat touch. To do this, knock your thumbs together while holding the chicken. If you’re frying drumsticks you’ll need to double coat them, then use KFC’s frying tip to make sure the skin is crispy: hold them at the base and twist the skin upwards to release any trapped air.
Step 5 Come on baby light by fry
If you’re a healthy eater, look away now. KFC deep fries its chicken for 15 minutes and then drains the oil off for another five minutes – 20 minutes in total. If you don’t have a deep fryer, heat up plenty of oil in a large saucepan and do it that way.
Craving KFC now? Try our version of KFC’s fried chicken.
