Kentucky-Style Fried Chicken, Inspired by KFC
Buttermilk-brined chicken in a peppery coating of flour, white pepper, celery salt, garlic, ginger and herbs, fried in one covered batch to mimic a pressure fryer. Inspired by, not official.
Inspired by KFC. Not an official KFC recipe: the company keeps its Original Recipe secret, and nothing here claims to reproduce it. Harland Sanders served fried chicken at his service station in Corbin, Kentucky, in the late 1930s; Wikipedia says he found in 1939 that a pressure fryer cooked moist chicken in eight or nine minutes, finalized his Original Recipe in July 1940, and that a signed copy is kept in a vault at KFC's Louisville headquarters. In 2016 the Chicago Tribune printed a handwritten list of 11 herbs and spices shown to a reporter by Sanders's nephew Joe Ledington; the Tribune's test cooks said their version was indistinguishable from KFC's and Ledington himself became unsure (Wikipedia), and KFC said that "no one's ever been right" (America's Test Kitchen:). Whether that list is real is DISPUTED. Cook's Country then built its own version around white pepper, ginger and celery salt.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Buttermilk-brined chicken in a peppery coating of flour, white pepper, celery salt, garlic, ginger and herbs, fried in one covered batch to mimic a pressure fryer. Inspired by, not official.
🇺🇸 The original
The oldest American printed recipe we found, from 1824, dusts cut-up chicken in flour, salts it and fries it in lard, served with a parsley gravy. No buttermilk soak and no spicy crust. See the 1824 Virginia Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy (Mary Randolph) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
One covered batch
The lid traps heat and steam the way a pressure fryer does, so the chicken cooks through faster and stays juicy in a little over 17 minutes, with only half the oil of a typical recipe (ATK).
Buttermilk rubbed into the flour
The wet bits turn into crunchy clusters that give the crust its craggy, extra-crisp texture (ATK).
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the 2 cups buttermilk with the salt until dissolved. Add the chicken, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours).
- Step 2
Whisk the flour, both peppers, celery salt, garlic, ginger, Italian seasoning, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Drizzle in the 6 tbsp buttermilk and rub it in with your fingertips until small craggy bits form.
- Step 3
Two pieces at a time, lift the chicken from the brine, let the excess drip off and press it into the coating on all sides. Set the pieces skin side up on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 1 hour (up to 2 hours).
- Step 4
Line a second rack with three layers of paper towels. Pour oil into a Dutch oven of at least 6 quarts to about 1 inch deep and heat over medium-high to 350°F.
- Step 5
Add all the chicken skin side down in a single layer (a little overlap is fine). Cover and fry 10 minutes, rotating the pot after 5 minutes and adjusting the burner to hold the oil near 300°F.
- Step 6
Uncover; the chicken should be golden on the bottom and sides but pale on top. Carefully flip each piece and fry uncovered 7 to 9 minutes more, until golden brown and the breasts read 165°F and the thighs and drumsticks 175°F.
- Step 7
Move to the paper-towel rack, sprinkle with salt and MSG if you like, and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Kentucky-Style Fried Chicken, Inspired by KFC
Serves 4 · 8 pieces · 2 hr 50 min total
Brine
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3 lb bone-in chicken pieces (2 split breasts halved crosswise, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs), trimmed
Coating
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp celery salt
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp buttermilk
Frying
- 1 1/2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil
- Optional: a pinch each of salt and MSG for right after frying
Method
- Whisk the 2 cups buttermilk with the salt until dissolved. Add the chicken, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours).
- Whisk the flour, both peppers, celery salt, garlic, ginger, Italian seasoning, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Drizzle in the 6 tbsp buttermilk and rub it in with your fingertips until small craggy bits form.
- Two pieces at a time, lift the chicken from the brine, let the excess drip off and press it into the coating on all sides. Set the pieces skin side up on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 1 hour (up to 2 hours).
- Line a second rack with three layers of paper towels. Pour oil into a Dutch oven of at least 6 quarts to about 1 inch deep and heat over medium-high to 350°F.
- Add all the chicken skin side down in a single layer (a little overlap is fine). Cover and fry 10 minutes, rotating the pot after 5 minutes and adjusting the burner to hold the oil near 300°F.
- Uncover; the chicken should be golden on the bottom and sides but pale on top. Carefully flip each piece and fry uncovered 7 to 9 minutes more, until golden brown and the breasts read 165°F and the thighs and drumsticks 175°F.
- Move to the paper-towel rack, sprinkle with salt and MSG if you like, and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Country), "One-Batch Fried Chicken" by Cecelia Jenkins (April 23, 2018), as written for 4. Kevin Pang's ATK article (March 31, 2021, linked above) describes this recipe as Cook's Country's KFC-style attempt and suggests salt and MSG right after frying; the MSG is optional. We cook breasts to 165°F (USDA FSIS) instead of ATK's 160°F. Inspired by, not official. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Cook's Country's Bryan Roof credits white pepper and ginger for the flavor that reads as "Kentucky style"; don't skip them (ATK article).
- Use a pot of at least 6 quarts; the oil rises when all the chicken goes in.
- Be careful lifting the lid: let the condensed steam drip back toward the pot, away from you.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- The 2016 Tribune list is the real secret recipe. Disputed: the Chicago Tribune's testers said it tasted nearly identical; KFC said no one has ever been right, and Ledington himself became unsure (Wikipedia; ATK).
- KFC's coating is just flour, salt, MSG and pepper. Disputed: William Poundstone reported this from a single lab sample in "Big Secrets" (1983); it conflicts with the 11-ingredient story (Wikipedia).
- KFC uses MSG. Documented per the Tribune's 2016 report, as summarized in search results; ATK's Kevin Pang also says KFC uses it.
- KFC is pressure fried. Documented: Sanders adopted the pressure fryer in 1939 (Wikipedia). Home pressure-frying is dangerous; this recipe only imitates it with a lidded pot.
- This is the real recipe. Folklore: it is a copycat, inspired by, not official.
Every other fried chicken
1824 Virginia Fried Chicken with Milk Gravy (Mary Randolph)
The oldest American printed fried chicken recipe we found: chicken dredged in flour and salt, fried light brown in lard, with fried parsley and a simple butter and milk gravy poured over the top.
Southern Pan-Fried Buttermilk Chicken
Chicken brined in salt water, soaked overnight in buttermilk, dredged in flour and cornstarch, and pan-fried in a skillet of lard and butter flavored with country ham, the Edna Lewis way.
Nashville Hot Chicken
Brined, double-dredged fried chicken brushed with a fiery cayenne oil and served the Nashville way, on slices of white bread with pickle chips.
Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy
Chicken seasoned with dry mustard and garlic, dredged, browned in a covered pot so it steams as it fries, finished with Old Bay and served with a peppery cream gravy made from the drippings.
Korean Yangnyeom Chicken (Double-Fried Sweet and Spicy Wings)
Chicken wings in a light potato starch and egg batter, fried twice for a shatter-crisp crust, then tossed in a glossy sauce of gochujang, ketchup, syrup and garlic and showered with sesame seeds.
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