KFC chicken burger

This is a fried chicken recipe that's made using a technique that yields an incredible super crunchy, really craggy crust with loads of nubbly bits that get extra crunchy! Seasoned with a KFC copycat 11 Secret Herbs and Spices - but better than KFC, there's no trace of soggy bits at all! Flesh is juicy all the way through thanks to a classic Southern buttermilk marinade (read in post why there's no spices in the marinade!).

Uh-oh! We're unable to calculate nutrition for this recipe because some ingredients aren't recognized.

Step 1

Buttermilk Marinade Chicken:

Step 2

Mix Marinade in a bowl until salt dissolves.

Step 3

Pour over chicken in ziplock bag, massage to coat chicken. Press out excess air, seal, refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, turning once or twice.

Step 4

Pour chicken and marinade into large bowl.

Step 5

Breading mixture:

Step 6

Whisk together Breading and all KFC Secret Herbs & Spices.

Step 7

Drizzle 4.5 tablespoons of Marinade into flour mixture. Use fingers to rub in so you get lots of pea sized lumpy bits all throughout (this creates extra super crunchy craggy bits).

Step 8

Spread out in a shallow dish or pan (easier to work with).

Step 9

Prepare to cook (work in specified order of steps):

Step 10

Preheat oven to 80°C/175°F and place rack on tray - to keep chicken warm. (Note 3)

Step 11

Add oil to a wide, heavy based pot to a depth of 6 cm / 2.5 " (my 26cm/10.5" cast iron pot = 1.75L/quarts oil, Note 4)

Step 12

Heat oil over medium to medium high heat to 180°C/350°F - maintain temp as best you can (Note 5).

Step 13

Cooking order: Start with thighs and drumsticks, wings next and cook breast last. (Note 6).

Step 14

Squidge a piece of chicken in remaining marinade, place in flour.

Step 15

Coat well, pressing very firmly to adhere. Transfer to plate.

Step 16

Coat 2 or 3 more pieces - just for one cooking batch, covering oil surface in single layer. (Note 7)

Step 17

Frying:

Step 18

Carefully place chicken in oil - it will bubble energetically but it will not spit.

Step 19

Once chicken is in, oil temperature should drop to 150°C/300°C - adjust heat to target this.

Step 20

DO NOT TOUCH chicken for 2 minutes - to let the crust bond with the chicken skin. After this, you can move them around but oil should be deep enough that you do not need to flip (but you can if you want!).

Step 21

Thighs and drumsticks - cook for 8 minutes (wings for 5 minutes), or until deep golden brown and internal temperature at thickest part is 75°C / 167°F.

Step 22

Breast - fry for 6 minutes or until internal temperature at thickest part is 65°C / 150°F (time depends on size).

Step 23

Place onto rack and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining chicken, coating each batch just prior to cooking.

Step 24

Serve immediately!

Step 25

Classic sides: Coleslaw, KFC copycat potato and gravy, steamed or grilled corn, cornbread or soft rolls, fries, potato salad, Souther

Step 26

1. Chicken - I buy bone in thighs, drumsticks and wings for ease. For true KFC/Southern experience, cut up your own chicken so you get breast pieces as well - ensure you keep the skin on and bone in. Cut breast into 2 pieces through the bone.

Step 27

Small pieces for thighs and breast is better - 200g/7oz or less, to ensure they cook through so you don't need to worry about fuss with finishing them in the oven. I've cooked 220g/7.7oz bone in thighs with no problems. If they get to 250g/8.8oz then you either need to take them to very deep golden in the oil OR finish in oven.

Step 28

2. Buttermilk - make your own if you can't find any. Add 1 tsp white vinegar into milk, stir, leave 10 minutes. Will curdle. Use per recipe.

Step 29

3. Keeping chicken warm - this is the temp at which chicken will stay warm, keep the coating crispy but will not continue to cook the chicken inside. Rack required to ensure underside of chicken stays super crispy.

Step 30

4. Frying vessel - I feel safe using a heavy cast iron pot. For most oil efficiency, use a wok - shape means you will use about 30% less oil with same surface area for frying. If you have a deep fryer, I salute you!

Step 31

5. Oil temperature - use a thermometer or surface scanner thermometer. If you don't have one, test by throwing in a lump of breading - should sizzle straight away but not burn quickly. OR stick a bamboo chopstick in and touch the base of the pot - if bubbles rise from floor of pot, oil is hot enough.

Step 32

Cook time will vary based on factors like chicken size, pot heat retention, stability of stove etc. Best to use thermometer to check internal temperature. The cook times provided in the recipe are for the chicken weights specified and heat oil temps provided, assuming a cast iron pot is used. Also use crust colour as a guide.

Step 33

6. Cooking order - thighs and drumsticks cook in the same time, cook together first. Then wings, then do breast last. Reason: dark meat stays juicier in warmed oven, and breast cooks faster.

Step 34

7. Batch cooking - don't coat all chicken then leave it lying around while you cook a batch, it will sweat and crust will be compromised.

Step 35

8. Oil reuse - One reason I don't deep fry much is because I hate the oil wastage! I clean my oil using this simple cornflour/cornstarch method from Cooks Illustrated. Usually, I comfortably re-use oil 3 times once cleaned. Unfortunately with Fried Chicken, I find that it's reusable only once more. Partly because of the strength of the seasonings and partly because you cook with it for a good 25 minutes which is using the oil a lot more than usual deep frying recipes.

Step 36

9. Breading mixture notes:

Step 37

Might seem like a lot of pepper, but it's key to KFC flavour and doesn't make it spicy. Remember that not much of the seasoning actually ends up on each piece of chicken.

Step 38

Hot & Spicy version - just add 2 tsp cayenne pepper into the breading! That will give it a nice buzz (but won't blow your head off)

Step 39

There is more breading coating flour than you need, so you'll throw out 1 cup or so. As wasteful as it sounds, I've tried using less and it gets messy/hard with the last pieces. So I conceded and upped the breading quantity - because this recipe is all about the crust!

Step 40

10. Recipe source: Some techniques adapted from Kenji’s recipe on Serious Eats with some steps simplified / amended based on my testing. Spices are my KFC copycat “11 secret herbs and spices” mix.

Step 41

11. Nutrition impossible to calculate so I'm sharing the KFC nutrition for 100g / 3.5 oz KFC fried chicken (no bone)