Q&A for How to Make KFC Original Fried Chicken

According to an article published in the Chicago Tribune, the 11 herbs and spices were recently revealed to be salt, thyme, basil, oregano, celery salt, black pepper, dried mustard, paprika, garlic salt, ground ginger, and white pepper.

According to the KFC website, their products are cooked in canola oil and hydrogenated soybean oil containing TBHQ (a preservative) and citric acid.

KFC uses special industrial pressure fryers. These are different from the type of pressure cooker most people have in their home kitchen, however. You’ll have an easier time recreating the recipe in a deep fryer or Dutch oven.

You use raw chicken. If you used cooked chicken, it would be very overcooked and dry.

The soda acts as frothing agent, or catalyst, and when mixed, it gives the flour air, and makes a light, crispy batter instead of a flat or heavy one.

The word "secret" is the charm here -- nobody can say for sure what that recipe is, although many people have come up with good guesses. One possibility is that they use cornflakes and chili as well. For example, mixing chili powder in the flour and probably adding the flakes to it as well, before coating in egg. This will make the mix spicier than perhaps the one in this recipe. Then again, this is just another guess at KFC's secret!

The skin would not be as crispy using this method; the results would be more disappointing than frying.

If you used chicken drumsticks, that could be why. Drumsticks are too big to get well done only by frying them; you need to bake them after you crisp them on the pan. This recipe should work with chicken wings and chicken stripes just fine, however.

Yes, you can.

I didn't think it tasted very similar, but it was delicious!

You can use a dry buttermilk mix that you mix with water. This works very well as a replacement.

Yes you can. Lard has a bit more fat but it is ideal for drying chicken. Either would produce good fried chicken. But it's your choice.

Yes. Some people don't like fried food, so they transfer to air fryer. Air fryers require less oil than traditionally frying foods, making them generally healthier than their oil-immersed counterparts. For those who eat things like french fries or fried chicken regularly, using an air fryer to cook them can cut calories and fat content.