Smallgree's musings

I've been looking at some of my old recipes to identify changes, or additions made that raised a particular recipe above the others. One of my best (first) contained nutmeg and clove, and another (second) did not. In the second recipe, I dropped the nutmeg and clove for much more allspice. I didn't use mustard in the first recipe, but I did in the second. What set the second recipe apart from the other recipes, in that series, was the use of a lot of mustard, paprika and the use of dried lemon zest rather than lemon pepper. I used 5 to 6 tsps of total black and white pepper in both, respectively. Both recipes contained significant amounts of ginger, with the second recipe, my best, containing nearly as much ginger (by weight) as black pepper. One reviewer thought that F-16 couldn't be beat, but swore that F&G-26++ blew it out of the water.

With all of the experimenting I've done, and what I've learned, I believe that if I revisit these recipes and work in rosemary and onion, then I might have something special. I believe, and always have, that following the given KFC seasoning bag weights is wrong. One of the things I maintained in the past that got me cross with Ellsworth was about the weights. CHS and KFC used spice companies to grind Hs&Ss and prepare their mixes. Their professional grinding techniques "probably" concentrated the flavors by eliminating the chaff from higher quality elements than we can get. Even with all of this, franchisees needed to zing their flour.

I pan fried chicken tenders in a cast iron skillet using the unnamed recipe I posted on May 29, 2024. I added another tsp of tellicherry black pepper and another tsp of white pepper. It was awesome, but missed the chicken skin. I'm going to take this recipe, which by my definitions, has 6 herbs and 5 spices, my F-16 and my F&G-26++, which I haven't posted (kgp can't have it), and develop what I think may be what I've looked for. It's been a long journey and I've overcome the BS, and have continued on with my sight on the brass ring (1950s KFC). I will first try Silver's new recipe, and a simple, combo recipe that CHS may have started with, but took undeserved credit and accolades for. Breaking down pre-mixes into one mix can be difficult, and would explain why there were so many variations through the years. There really might not have been a true, personally developed recipe. I'm looking at Aromat, Good Seasons, tomato soup, white pepper, black pepper, msg, salt, ginger, and maybe one secret ingredient that rounds out the note. This is what I'm going to do, and the negative Nancys be damned.

There is likely no one who is alive today who knows what 1939 CHS deep fried chicken actually may have tasted like. Especially after eating noticeably "evolving recipe" chicken for 85 years. So blathering about 1939 is irrelevant.

My radical thought for the day is that if by miracle someone fed any of us real 1939 recipe CHS chicken we would be disappointed with it.

Knorr and Maggi soups were available during the 40s. CHS experimented with and altered his recipe many times, all the way up to 1952. You have no proof, nor does anyone else, that the statements about the 40s were anything more than hearsay. There is no proof, other than hearsay statements, that the 1950s recipe was the same recipe used during the 40s. Many have promoted PR statements into fact, which has been a great barrier for accurate research.