Yes, we know the secret to the KFC chicken ingredients! Do you ever crave that tantalizing, finger-licking good flavor of KFC chicken but want to stay in the comfort of your own home? It’s possible with this Copycat KFC Chicken recipe.
Marinating the chicken in buttermilk was the only way to create chicken as juicy as KFC's; however, we are not sure if KFC marinates their chicken pieces. We believe they are able to achieve the tender and juicy chicken by using pressure oil fryers. Since we don’t have that at home, we marinate in buttermilk to achieve the same effect.
Add buttermilk and egg to a large bowl and whisk until they're well blended. Add the chicken pieces and let them marinate for 20 to 30 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Pro Tip. You can marinate the chicken pieces overnight. Make sure not to let the mixture sit for longer than 24 hours or the chicken will become mushy.
In another large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, thyme, basil, oregano, celery salt, black pepper, dried mustard, paprika, garlic salt, ground ginger, and white pepper.
I use a Dutch oven to fry the chicken pieces, or a 12-in frying pan works well too. Preheat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit over medium-high heat. Use a deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature. Once the oil reaches 350 degrees, reduce the heat to medium-low.
Dredge the chicken pieces. Remove each piece of chicken and allow the excess liquid to drip off and use a paper towel to pat off excess buttermilk before adding to the dry mixture.
Working with one piece at a time, add the piece in the flour and spice mixture and press down firmly, allowing the flour to adhere on both sides. Shake off any excess flour. Carefully add the chicken into the hot oil.
Continue dredging the chicken and adding the pieces to the hot oil in batches. You should be able to fry about 3 or 4 pieces at a time. Do no overcrowd the fryer. Pro Tip. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding more chicken. Repeat the dredging and frying process with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Fry the chicken for about 12 minutes, turning halfway through. The crust should turn a golden brown color.
Transfer the fried pieces to a baking sheet with a rack and place it in the oven. Pro Tip. The rack will help the chicken stay crispy on all sides as the warm oven will keep the chicken hot and crisp until all the pieces are fried and you are ready to serve.
Once all the chicken is fried, keep in the warm oven until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Frozen chicken should be thawed and both frozen and refrigerated chicken should be brought to room temperature before reheating. Pro Tip. Thawed fried chicken, can be enjoyed cold without reheating.The only way to regain the crispiness of fried chicken is to use the oven or an air fryer to reheat.You can microwave the chicken for 30 second intervals until wary. However, this will result in soggy chicken.To reheat the fried chicken in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the chicken on a sheet pan fitted with a wire rack in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes.