We Got KFC's Top-Secret Spice Blend for This Fried Chicken Recipe (2024)

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• Everyone loves fried chicken! This dish of humble origins is so well-loved by everyone, making it at home is absolutely worth it.
• This recipe and technique is a culmination of all the tips I’ve learned over the past 10 years. Including advice from Alton Brown (IRL, no less) partnered with knowledge gleaned from Kitchn’s own editors.
• Once you’ve got the technique down, you’ll want to make it often. Frying chicken is definitely a big cooking project, which is to say you’ll need a couple of hours to accomplish it. But once you’ve got the technique down, you can fry more than one batch at a time for family picnics or just to have leftovers the following day.

• Bone-in chicken: Preferably drumsticks and thighs.
• Seasoning mixture: Make a flavorful seasoning mixture with smoked paprika, white pepper, garlic powder, ground ginger, celery salt, black pepper, ground mustard, dried thyme, dried basil, and dried oregano.
• Buttermilk: Dip the chicken in a tangy buttermilk mixture before dredging in the flour mixture.
• Egg whites: The egg whites are combined with buttermilk to help the flour coating stick to the chicken.
• All-purpose flour: For dredging.
• Cornstarch: A bit of cornstarch in the flour mixture makes the crust crispier.
• Vodka: Vodka or any other neutral spirit evaporates quickly in the frying oil, which sets the coating and creates flaky layers.

1. Buy bone-in chicken pieces. Let’s be real here — everybody wants a drumstick or thigh. Avoid arguments over the two you’ll get from buying a whole chicken and breaking it down and simply buy the pieces you like best. Personally, I go straight for a 50/50 split of drumsticks and thighs.
2. Dry brine the chicken for juiciness. Dry brine (meaning salt) the chicken itself first. You can do this overnight in the fridge or for just 30 minutes before coating and frying the chicken at room temperature. This salting step is critical for moist, flavorful chicken, as it gives the chicken direct contact with the salt. This helps to tenderize it, but also infuses it with flavor.
3. Make a strong seasoning mixture. In 2016, KFC’s secret spiced blend was reportedly leaked to the public via the Chicago Tribune. KFC uses a lot of spices and a large amount of them. I tried the recipe as written and found it too salty and too strong, so the seasoning mix you’ll find below reflects a lighter touch. Mix the seasoning blend together while the chicken is sitting salted, then put half on the chicken and the other half in the flour coating. Remember that the fat from frying is going to mellow some of the spice flavor and that some of the spices will be left behind in the coating process, so don’t be afraid at the large volume of spice here.
4. Use egg whites, alcohol, and cornstarch for a crispy coating. These seemingly unrelated ingredients come together to make a super-crispy coating on the chicken full of ripples, nooks, and flakes — all the good things we love on fried chicken. Here is what each one does in the batter.

• Egg white adds structure in the form of protein. It also helps the flour coating stick to the chicken like culinary glue. Use whole eggs and you’ll have a softer crust because of the yolks’ fat content.
• Alcohol evaporates quickly in the frying oil. This sets the coating and creates flaky layers. You often see this ingredient used in pie crust recipes too.
• Cornstarch in the flour makes the crust crispier. Cornstarch weakens the all-purpose flour’s protein just enough to make the coating tender.

• Set up a proper fry station. At the center of your fry station should be your Dutch oven, half full of oil (save the oil bottle!) and fitted with a deep-fry thermometer. One side should have your pan of prepped and ready-to-fry chicken, while the other side should have a cooling rack set on a baking sheet for draining and cooling the finished chicken. You may also want a plate, small baking sheet, or sheet of foil for resting oily tongs or equipment on while frying.
• Use two thermometers. Use a deep-fry or candy thermometer for the oil and a instant-read thermometer to monitor the chicken’s internal temperature. You’ll notice that the oil drops in temperature as chicken pieces are added to the pot. You’ll need to monitor the temperature by adjusting the heat as you fry. The probe thermometer will guarantee that you have juicy chicken that is properly cooked. You can’t just rely on the chicken’s golden-brown coating to determine doneness, as the spice mixture will brown pretty quickly before the chicken is cooked. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of each piece; make sure the thermometer is not touching bone when taking the temperature for the most accurate reading.
• Use a Dutch oven. The cast iron skillet is an icon of Southern fried foods, but its shallow depth makes a mess (and is a fire hazard if you aren’t careful) when frying. Instead, use a Dutch oven for frying. The Dutch oven’s high sides will reduce the amount of oil that splatters out of the pan, but you can also reduce splashing by using long tongs to lower your chicken into the hot oil. Use another pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the oil, holding the finished chicken over the hot oil for 10 to 15 seconds so excess oil can drip back into the Dutch oven and not all over your stovetop.
• Don’t even mess with the hot oil post-frying. Another benefit of the Dutch oven for frying is that after you’ve enjoyed your chicken you can cover the oil with the pot’s lid and let it cool on the back of the stove. I usually do not even deal with the fry oil until the next day. Set a reminder on your phone to move the oil and clean the pot the next day.

• Move your finished fried chicken to a cooling rack set over a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Setting the chicken directly on paper towels (or brown paper) might wick away some excess grease, but it can also create a steamy spot where that crust we worked so hard for gets soggy.
• Cool the chicken for at least 10 minutes before serving. Proper cooling sets the crust and ensures that the chicken will have done all its carryover cooking. I like to cool any leftover chicken completely and then store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in the fridge. The paper towel absorbs condensation and keeps that chicken crisp for midnight snacking.

• Classic Mashed Potatoes
• Butter Bath Corn
• Baked Mac and Cheese
• Southern-Style Buttermilk Biscuits

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