This all started in the little town of “Corbin, Kentucky”.  That’s where Harland Sanders opened up Sanders Cafe, which eventually became Kentucky Fried Chicken™.  For a time in the 90′s they started branding the initials KFC™.  The company has now returned to Kentucky Fried Chicken™, but most people still call it KFC™.

It’s not too tough to recreate the taste of that special coating, but it is difficult to match the juiciness of the chicken.  That’s because Kentucky Fried Chicken™ uses pressure cookers to fry their chicken.  This cooks the chicken fast, reducing the “greasiness” as well as locking in the juice from the chicken.

The recipe below is as close as you’ll ever get at home.  Obviously Harland Sanders didn’t use Italian Dressing or tomato soup packets in his original recipe, but this will give you the exact same flavor.

RECIPE:

• 2 envelopes dry tomato soup mix (Lipton cup-o-soup works perfect)
• 2 envelopes Italian dressing mix
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried chervil (it’s a lot like parsley, but don’t try to substitute)
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups pancake mix, (Bisquick works well)
• 3 cups buttermilk (enough to soak the chicken)
• 4 cups oil (southerners love using lard but you may want to substitute)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Blend all of the dry ingredients for the coating in a blender.
2. Soak the chicken pieces in buttermilk for at least one hour in the refrigerator.
3. Remove chicken from buttermilk and roll in the chicken coating mixture above.
4. Let chicken sit at room temperature while waiting for the oil to get hot.
5. Use a deep fryer if possible for the most authentic copy of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe. If that is not possible, use a cast iron skillet. Do not crowd the chicken when placing into the skillet.
6. Brown the chicken in the skillet on high heat. Then turn down the heat and cover the pan. Cook until the fried chicken is done, about 30 minutes.
7. During the last 5 or 10 minutes, uncover the pan and turn up the heat. This will crisp up the fried chicken. Be careful not to burn the chicken during this last step.
8. Remove the fried chicken and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

• 4 1/2 teaspoons Tarragon vinegar
• 6 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 1/2 cups Miracle Whip
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 carrots (grated)
• 2 heads cabbage (chopped small or grated)

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, stir the oil, onions and sugar together. Add in the Tarragon vinegar and mix again.

Carefully mix in the Miracle Whip. If you’re like me and prefer real mayo, don’t do it! Part of the secret is to use Miracle Whip instead of mayo.

In a large separate bowl combine the carrots and cabbage.

Pour the white sauce over the carrots and cabbage and mix carefully.

Store this in an air-tight container in the refrigerator overnight. As tempted as you may be to try this immediately, there’s a huge difference after it’s sat in the fridge all night.