The secret to getting KFC’s crispy fried chicken has been a subject of immense scrutiny for decades, and understandably so. The exact blend of its spices has been locked in a vault and remains a mystery to this day, just not as tightly kept as before. There have been revelations about the secret mix to help you make a KFC copycat at home. But even if you go by the reportedly leaked recipe of the Original Fried Chicken, it’s almost impossible to achieve that quintessential crunchy, flaky texture. That’s because KFC uses a unique cooking method to fry its chicken that’s tough to replicate at home: pressure frying.
Pressure fryers are typically used to cook chicken in high volumes. Unsurprisingly, they are mostly used by food joints, though there are ways to replicate this high-tech fryer behind KFC’s chicken at home by cranking up the heat. But even if you or a restaurant use the pressure frying method, there’s a je ne sais quoi texture to KFC’s fried chicken that remains unparalleled.
One key reason is that KFC uses Collectramatic fryers. The founder of Winston Industries, which manufactures these fryers, had a close relationship with Colonel Harland Sanders and took a personal interest in making the Colonel’s kitchen more efficient. His company eventually began designing pressure fryers specifically to meet KFC’s needs. It is now the only approved pressure fryer for the brand, though KFC isn’t the only brand using these fryers. An important thing to note here is that KFC uses these fryers only for its Original Fried Chicken.
KFC cooks its Original Fried Chicken differently from Extra Crispy
KFC introduced Extra Crispy fried chicken to its menu in the 1970s. Until then, fans only had the option of KFC’s Original Fried Chicken. Although the company had begun using Collectramatic pressure fryers by that time, it opted to stick with open fryers for the new Extra Crispy version. Why? While pressure fryers offer consistency and use up less oil, open frying lends a crispier texture. It’s the same method McDonald’s uses for its fries. The only difference is that they’re double-fried, one of the facts about McDonald’s fries only a true fan would know. To achieve that unmatched crispiness, KFC also follows a specific breading process. While Original Recipe chicken is hand-breaded once, Extra Crispy chicken is double-breaded before it’s open-fried to create a craggy, ultra-crunchy exterior.
The only downside to the open frying process is that it uses significantly more oil than pressure frying, as the double breaded chicken is submerged in a vat of oil. KFC lets this excess oil drain off by placing the fried chicken onto a wire rack. This step might seem insignificant, but it’s also what makes KFC fried chicken so good. Placing any fried goods on a solid surface can trap steam and make the bottom go mushy. By placing them on wire racks, KFC manages to retain the crispiness of the chicken. So it’s not just one but an amalgamation of both big and tiny nuances that make a KFC chicken so perfectly fried.
