This article was first published in April 2020.
In this uncertain time of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a few everyday heroes who are getting us through. Ashley Bloomfield. Dr Siouxsie Wiles. And now this UK man who claims to have perfectly recreated KFC after 18 months of trying.
Just in time for the long lockdown period, Warwickshire man Dan Fell says he has achieved the impossible and perfectly mimicked the fast-food giant's notoriously secretive Original Recipe chicken.
Taking to Twitter, the music composer shared photos of his homemade KFC, writing it "took me 18 months but I replicated it".
"You have to have a deep fryer and you need the right mix of the herbs and spices. Oil needs to be 160-165C, no more and no less.
"Chicken needs to be room temperature and you use egg white and milk as the wash (no yolk). Made it about 30 times."
He also shared some mouth-watering pics of the successful recipe, which do look incredibly close to the real thing.
Fell says he's been told by multiple people that "you can't really tell the difference".
Twitter users took to the replies to thank Fell for his service to all those missing KFC in this difficult time.
"Not the hero we deserved... but the hero we needed. Thank you," wrote one person,
"Dan, I love you," wrote another.
It's not the first time a homemade version of a fast-food favourite has hit headlines in recent weeks, as we all mourn the loss of our beloved takeaways. McDonald's recently shared the recipe for their breakfast McMuffin and hash brown, while Burger King France shared the secret to perfecting a Whopper burger at home.
The full recipe for Dan Fell's KFC replica can be found below.
Ingredients
- Five cups of plain flour
- Half a tablespoon of oregano & thyme
- One tablespoon of brown ginger
- Two tablespoons of garlic powder
- One tablespoon of mustard powder
- One tablespoon of celery salt
- One tablespoon of black pepper
- One-third of a tablespoon of sea salt
- Two tablespoons of white pepper
- Four tablespoons of paprika
- Chicken
Method
- Add the flour to the herbs and spices. Then use three parts flour to one part self-raising flour.
- Season the chicken in a mix when at room temperature.
- Egg wash your chicken using egg white and milk. Then re-season in the mix.
- Fry the chicken for five to six minutes at 160C to 165C before placing it in a pre-heated 80C oven - then give it a final 90-second fry prior to serving.
