In search of the Colonel’s chicken secret
Published 11:07 pm Tuesday, January 22, 2008
With the possible exception of breakfast, chicken’s the perfect choice all other times of the day and night. How you fix it, of course, is entirely up to you.
Cooking chicken is, as all cooks know, a real no-holds-barred operation, because chicken’s so incredibly versatile there’s absolutely nothing you can’t do with it or to it except eat it raw.
So we’re in store for not just a chicken recipe per se today, but rather one specific seasoning mixture that’s had Forum cooks scrambling to come up with just the right combo of this and that.
For starters on this subject, we hear from Monroe cook Yvette Barnes, “In response to Deanna Dunkin Smith’s request in the Dec. 3 paper for the secret to the spices in the KFC chicken recipe, I doubt whether we’ll ever know.
“But, my mother Regina Kossan had a recipe that was as close to it as you can get. All of us kids thought so, anyway. It is REALLY good! I have her recipe now and am so happy to share it, if Deanna would like to try it.”
Yvette adds, “I do hope she tries it and lets you (us) know if she liked it. Enjoy!”
And another, somewhat similar yet totally different, seasoning mixture and cooking procedure comes to us courtesy of Cathy Metz of Everett.
Since, like money and chocolate, you can never have too much chicken, we can fix one recipe now and try the other later. Sounds like a plan to me, so here we go:
Yvette’s Mother Regina’s Chicken ‘Like the Colonel’s’
2packages Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix
3tablespoons flour
2teaspoons salt
1/4cup lemon juice
2tablespoons oil
Chicken pieces
2cups milk, club soda or beer, preferably milk
Pancake flour
Oil for frying
In a small bowl, combine the dry dressing mix, flour, salt, lemon juice and oil. Mix well, spread over chicken pieces and stack them in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Measure milk, soda or beer into a suitable bowl. Working with one chicken piece at a time, dip in liquid and let excess drip off, then dust lightly with pancake flour (do not overcoat) and dry pieces on a cookie sheet for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let chicken pieces touch.
Fry pieces, a few at a time, in hot oil until browned, then transfer to a rimmed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Like KFC’s original fried chicken
2eggs, well beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2cups flour
1packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix (the 11 herbs and spices)
1envelope any brand tomato cup-of-soup
1frying chicken, cut into pieces
Vegetable oil to cover bottom of your skillet, about 1/2-inch deep
In suitable bowl, combine the eggs and milk and set aside. In suitable container, combine the flour, dry dressing mix and dry soup mix, stirring to mix thoroughly.
Dip chicken pieces in the egg-milk mixture and roll them in the seasoned flour mixture. Repeat the dip-and-roll procedure again.
Fry chicken pieces in the oil over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, turning often.
Lift from skillet, drain and serve.
SOS: Lois Leonard tells us, “I have long-lost a recipe for coconut sugar cookies that was made by my aunt when I was a young girl, many years ago. The cookie was made with melted Crisco, a beaten egg and had cream of tartar and coconut in it.
“The recipe made the most beautiful white sugar cookies. If someone has this recipe, I would be very grateful. I spoke to the Crisco folks and they were unable to supply the recipe.”
If you can help, please write to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
We are always happy to receive your contributions and requests, but please remember that all letters and e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.
The next Forum will appear in Friday’s Time Out section.
