My KFC Progress

Oops, I forgot to add 2 tsp of MSG to the recipe modification I've proposed above.

You might also consider White Pepper and Black Pepper at 1-1/4 tsp each if you really like peppery chicken.

And you might consider 1/2 tsp Sage instead of 1/2 tsp Tarragon.  I likely would.  But it's your choice and both should work.  I can't bash Tarragon.  But similarly, I can't bash Sage.  Perhaps just add both.

I used the "tsp principle" many times and I never got close to the note. ever.
I deduced col. sanders or Margaret sanders wrote ledington's recipe for somebody who doesn't have a pressure fryer.
He fully understood that conventional pan-frying lets the aroma escape rather than be pressured into the chicken pieces,
and so he compensated by adding more spices and herbs ratio to flour.

my next experiment would be the "orange extract"
I shall add it in the milk & egg dip as well as on the buttermilk marinade. Let's see if my chicken get all that nonanal aroma note and I will also add a bit of orange peel in the breading, I have a feeling that the colonel used oranges or some other citrus to remove that "overriding chicken smell". When you smell your fried chicken you can only smell the meat and never the scent of the pepper nor the spices, according to my research vanilla and orange extracts uplifts and balances the flavor of all spices and herbs they're applied to.

I have a feeling that New Age KFC added coriander leaf and orange peel as a distraction. They think they can fool people that these coriander specks are herbs and spices but in reality it's just extracts and msg. From what I learned, coriander leaf's flavor will disappear in high heat cooking.

I apologize for my style of cooking but I observed colonel sanders and I can see that he's radical and unorthodox in his cooking ways, I read his autobiography and his cookbook. Hot Coffee with whole egg (eggshell included) crushed into it lol!

I also stumbled across one of his comments in an old newspaper. He was asked how long did it take for him to come up with the 11 H&S and he said it wasn't hard to figure out, just a day or two. He even boasted that it will stay secret forever but he didn't know the tenacity of this forum lol.

So he said "Certain ingredient for stuffing and certain ingredient for sausage making".
Hmmmmm... My bet would be "Fennel" is the sausage making ingredient and "Sage" is the most common stuffing ingredient there is. When I hear turkey dinner, sage is the first herb that come to mind.

My two cents recipe: 1/2 cup AP flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tbsp salt, 1 tsp msg, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum.

2 tbsp medium coarse & ground black pepper (freshly cracked)
1 tbsp fine white pepper (freshly cracked)
1 tbsp garlic powder (not granulated)
2 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1/4 tsp orange peel
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp fennel (the last time I added this my chicken smells awesome)
1/8 tsp star anise (this spice is outlandish in the South but it makes a fried chicken great) Allspice is too Jamaican and Anise seed is too Mennonite.

My No. 1 lesson after 50 failed fried chicken recipe is never to use tsp measures on a 2 cup flour. Pepper and Garlic has to be in tablespoons because the "pickup capacity" of a wet chicken piece is only 5% of all the herbs and spices in the breading. So you have to increase the volume of the H&S.

Here is my discovery: Start at 360 degrees and maintain the temperature between 325-300 degrees. Fry just to crisp the coating (4 minutes) then finish in the oven covered in foil (Gloria Pitzer). I nailed the tender juicy crispy of KFC but the "Note" and "Aroma" is missing.

My wife likes to use only 100% Celery Salt or Celery Seed and Salt to spice her fried chicken. About a week ago I got her to spice it with a ballpark 50/50 mix of Celery Salt and Coriander Seed. To our amazement it tasted dull, as if it was barely spiced at all, and close to being as if it was not spiced. The salt was there, but the ever amazing celery seed taste had vanished, along with the coriander which also vanished.  So there might be something to say about Coriander being a distraction. Or a flavor masker/destroyer.

Edit:  This was for Air Fried chicken, if that matters.