Homemade KFC!

OK, I should be working (in fact, there are a lot of things I should be doing) but what I *want* to do is tell you all about what I had for dinner last night. This recipe comes by the way of my fabby foodie friend Mo (of the Amazing Recipes – that’s her full title … in fact, remind me one day to tell you about Marvelous Mo’s Magnificent Meringues – they are to die for). Anyhoo, back to the Colonel… I will prefix this post with the statement that of course I know junk food is extremely bad for us and that some of it hardly counts as actual food even BUT we all have a weakness and this is mine.  The occasional Zinger Tower burger!  So sue me 😉

Before I met hubby, I really wasn’t a hugely adventurous eater – in fact I had been a very picky child. Hungry hubby was brought up on a very different range of foods to me and one day, we were looking for somewhere to go to lunch. I must have been 19 still at the time and my chosen poison at McDonalds was a McChicken Sandwich. I had never been to KFC before, was a tad suspicious even but as The Hungry One said, “if you like chicken, you have to try The Colonel”. As it was early days for us, I thought I’d try and impress him with my willingness to try new things so on we went. A very guilty pleasure was born! Oh my that fillet burger was goooood! It may be beyond naughty but the allure of fried chicken is hard to pass up. KFC is still our guilty pleasure, one I limit to a very rare treat. But now, thank you to the Marvelous Mo, we can have KFC whenever we like – HOMEMADE! (ergo, healthy). Here’s what you’ll need – no deep fat frier required!: Gosh, I’ve made a hole in that jar haven’t I?

Fear not faithful readers! I shall divulge the secret blend of eleven herbs and spices!

I do recommend the extra step of poaching the chicken pieces in milk first as it makes them extra tender and gives you a chance to get an extra layer of seasoning into them.

This does require getting a fair few bowls dirty but I promise you it is worth it.  And it’s so much better for you than getting the deep fat frier out – again, I promise this tastes so good, you won’t miss it. I believe it is better than KFC itself without a question.

I like to mix the (not so secret) spice blend with some cornmeal/polentafor extra crunch. I use about half as much polenta as I use of the finished spice blend. For 6-8 chicken portions, I would use about ½cup of the spice blend to half as much polenta.

Double dipping to get an extra crisp coating is highly recommended.  You may find you need slightly more or less than the amounts stated but this isn’t an exact science.  It will depend on both your preferences of amount of coating and also how big the pieces or chicken breasts you use are to some extent. See how crisp it comes out despite using next to nothing extra oil?  You have to give this a try and wow your friends and family alike!

I’ve won best wife awards for making Hungry Hubby a “Bargain Bucket” to nibble on as he watches football, plays computr games with his friends and also for making homemade Zinger burgers on many an occasion since discovering this recipe.  For me, my favourite is definitely the burger but I leave it up to you to decide which you prefer.  Apologies for any going up in trouser size after reading this blog post although, they will be considerably smaller for making KFC at home rather than visitng the Colonel…

Thank you Mo for another brilliant recipe and one which keeps us out of dirty, nasty take out joints 😉

Here it is readers – the secret recipe itself.  Make up a batch and keep it in an air tight jar ready to create “fried” chicken portions or chicken breast Zinger style burgers at a drop of a hat!

KFC Coating Secret Recipe

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Credit – Marvellous Mo, my fab foodie friend!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour (approx 250g)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp celery salt
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp mustard powder
• 2 tbsp paprika (not the smoked stuff)
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp chilli powder (optional but recommended for that “Zinger” vibe)

Method

1. Whisk ingredients together then store in an airtight jar until needed It should last as long as the minimum use by date on your ingredients.  That’s all there is to it!

To cook chicken portions or burgers

Ingredients

• Bone-in, skin-on chicken portions or skinless or boneless chicken breasts if making burgers
• Plain flour (to toss the chicken in)
• The Secret Blend of Herbs and Spices as above
• 1-2 beaten eggs
• Fine cornmeal (optional)
• Milk, a bay leaf plus some salt and pepper (if making KFC portions)
• Oil spray or a small amount of butter to dot the pieces with

Method for Cooking Chicken Pieces or Burgers

1. If cooking bone in chicken portions, put your portions in a large saucepan with the bay leaf and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper then cover with milk.
2. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until just cooked through.
3. Drain well in a colander and then dry off with paper towels.
4. In one shallow bowl place some plain flour to toss the chicken pieces in as their first coating.  I use around 100g flour for 6-8 pieces of chicken but just go by eye.
5. In a second shallow dish, beat 1-2 eggs then toss your flour coated chicken in this.
6. In a third bowl, place about 100g (half a cup-ish) of the blend of flour, herbs and spices and if you fancy an extra crunchy coating, add a few tablespoons of fine cornmeal.  I love to do it this way.
7. If you want an extra thick coating, at this stage dip back into the eggs then into the coating one last time.
8. Place on a greaseproof or foil lined baking tray and spray liberally with oil or dot with a small knob of butter per chicken portion.  Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 25-30 minutes by which time the chicken will be piping hot through to the bone and the coating will have crispened up nicely.  Turn once half way through cooking spraying with more oil or butter if liked.
9. To make burgers use skinless, boneless chicken breasts and do NOT poach them in milk first. I add a teaspoon or so of chilli powder to the spice mix for that Zinger, spicy vibe.
10. Simply coat in flour, dip in the egg then the coating as above and either bake for 20-25 minutes or fry in a frying pan for approximately 8-10 minutes turning once until cooked through and no pink remaining. I must admit to prefering to shallow fry in a little rapeseed oil if making burgers as they have a lot less fat than the bone-in, skin on portions.
11. Serve burgers with a slice of cheese melted on top, salsa, mayonnaise and a hash brown (homemade if you have the time) a la the Colonel himself 😉

Recipe method by Jo Blogs Jo Bakes of www.joblogsjobakes.wordpress.com