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Post by Silver on Nov 18, 2021 22:47:49 GMT 1
Lee was related to CHS somehow. And likely knew the original recipe. But a KFC lawsuit restricted him to 5 spices beyond Salt, Pepper, and MSG.
We were in New Philadelphia, Ohio today and bought an 8 pack of Lee's 'Famous Recipe' Chicken.
Right off the bat this Chicken is much better than the two recent purchases we made at two local KFC's. The flavors of Salt, MSG, and Pepper predominate and the 'note' of MSG is definitely high. The Salt level seems a bit higher than for my recipe #4, as does the Pepper taste. The chicken itself seems much more fresh tasting than for KFC. The Pepper is noticeably more fresh tasting in Lee's.
Bottom line: Great Fried Chicken with a nice golden color. Better than KFC. But not packing quite the note of KFC. And the breast meat was just a hint dry vs. KFC.
Lesson(s) learned: It does not take 11 H&S by which to deliver a reasonable semblance of the 'note'. Not quite as much note (or as much of just the right note) than my recipe #4 and/or #4 plus Tarragon. If it wasn't so far away from me, Lee's would be my go-to Fried Chicken. Salt is not sacrificed by Lee, and it is beneficial to the taste.
My wild guess as to Lee's 5 H&S: Allspice, Coriander, Ginger, Sage (or perhaps Savory), and Celery Seed. Likely also some Dextrose for a mild sweetness that adds to the the sweetness of the MSG.
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Post by Silver on Nov 18, 2021 22:50:32 GMT 1
I believe the lawsuit settlement also required that Lee not drop his oil temperature after sealing up the pressure cooker. He was required to maintain a single temperature. So my pure guess is that he likely settled upon an inbetween temperature.
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Post by deepfriednew101 on Nov 19, 2021 3:39:22 GMT 1
This is the Court Case your referring too  |
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Post by Silver on Nov 19, 2021 13:25:16 GMT 1
There were nooks and crannies of uncooked coating under the surface in diverse places within the Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken. And this was the best part! Very tasty!!! It actually reminded me of KFC from days of yore. I haven't seen this desirable uncooked coating phenomenon within real KFC_OR for many years now.
My guess here is that since Lee's cannot reduce their oil temperature, they must cook in oil for a much shorter time, and then oven their Chicken. This would potentially allow for uncooked coating to remain beneath the surface.
Everything adds up to some really great Chicken from Lee's. And with only 5 H&S. Can you tell that I was duly impressed with it?
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Post by Silver on Nov 19, 2021 15:59:51 GMT 1
Lee Cummings was a Nephew of Colonel Harland Sanders. CHS was his Uncle. He traveled by car with CHS in the early days to promote franchises. Lee Cummings became the President of CHS's company from 1959 until (apparently) when CHS sold the company in 1964. Lee then opened his first Famous Recipe Chicken restaurant in 1966, and several franchises were up and running by 1967. KFC filed their lawsuit against Lee and Famous Recipe Chicken in 1966, almost as soon as he was getting started. There are at this date ~29 company owned Famous Recipe Chicken restaurants, plus an additional 129 franchise restaurants. They are located across these 12 States: AL, FL, IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, OH, SC, TN, VA, WI
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Post by Silver on Nov 19, 2021 17:54:07 GMT 1
I'm thinking that in order to be golden yellow I would have to drop any sort of Paprika or Chili Powder or Red Bell Pepper Flakes, etc... from my recipe, and add something like Annatto or Turmeric powder to the mix.
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Post by deepfriednew101 on Nov 20, 2021 17:03:16 GMT 1
KFC New Age Corporation List color spices in many countries BUT they also List Aroma Enhancer also.
Red member that KFC original was a More Rose Red Color it was darker and soft but definite Red Tinge to the coating that was soft and Moist that acted like a glue to our fingers and even the simple Napkins stuck to your Hands. That's where the finger lickin good came from in a way more people would lick the fingers first and one of the Franchise owners made reference YES FINGER LICKEN GOOD.
The Golden Brown Tern came about after they were experimenting with a more Crunchy Coating concept that took Off like Gang Busters when the commercial showed the Crunch and it never changed but the Coating effectively changed to the Crunchy and extra crunchy Golden Brown Coating.
When you watch Old Video like Gloria on Donahue. They spoke about the ORIGINAL chicken a Rose Red Color. Gloria added Paprika to color the chicken.
NOW NEW AGE uses more of a Golden Color spice color enhancer.
how time changed?
KFC did change the Heavy paprika Color chicken to a mare Golden Brown to help save on Oil. Many said that the Oil change cost was to high of a capital cost for franchise's. The same time they were experimenting with the Crunchy Coating
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Post by Silver on Dec 8, 2021 13:49:36 GMT 1
My latest speculative guess as to a potential 'Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken' clone:  |
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Post by Silver on Dec 8, 2021 13:53:48 GMT 1
I may have to try this one just to get the Sage/Savory need bias off my back. Along with the 11 H&S bias. Since flg is moving toward a "Less Is More" period of recipe formulation, this one would place me in that camp also (for at least one attempt). |
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Post by Silver on Dec 9, 2021 12:15:53 GMT 1
Above I mentioned finding some very tasty uncooked (or not fully cooked) breading mix tucked away in a few places under the surface of the Lee's Famous Recipe coating. I forgot to mention at that time that there were distinctly green bits within the uncooked breading. This is an indicator of Herbs. And it is proof that Lee's breading is not comprised of only Flour, Salt, Pepper, and MSG. I would expect that this would likely also apply for KFC_OR.
Edit: Among many others, Thyme and Marjoram are Herbs.
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