smallgree
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Post by smallgree on Jan 31, 2024 22:24:14 GMT 1
It is what it is. I'm not sure exactly what was in the mix. Fenugreek just happened to stand out. Cumin was undoubtedly in the mix, as was probably everything I've tried the past year.
I keep my mixes in glass jars in a dark place. I mix all with a little salt, as it is a preservative. I agree that proportions have changed, some more than before, and some less. I am not a scientist, but there is truth in what I'm saying.
Some of my mixes were herb heavy and some were spice heavy and some were mix heavy. I think the dilution of all of them is what increased the flavor. I've maintained for a long time that we use "too much".
I admit that the fenugreek has puzzled me. There also must have been some cinnamon in that mix. But I did not dump a mix that had much paprika in it. I have many more jars of mixes that are sitting and collecting dust.
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Post by Chickenman on Feb 1, 2024 1:16:26 GMT 1
Well i respect that you admit you may have been wrong about it. Fenugreek at first puzzled me aswell, i tasted some of the raw powder and was like "nope absolutely not" but then when i tried some in cooking and saw how incredibly savoury it is i changed my mind on it. And the aroma it lets off in storage after opening etc just screams kfc at me.
It can ruin a recipe if not used carefully tho. Doesn't need much to get all the savoury goodness off it. I don't use cumin tho, but i've experimented with it. Love it in all my other cooking, just not in fried chicken.
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smallgree
Chef
Here is a vial recipe:
Posts: 1,398
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Post by smallgree on Feb 1, 2024 1:47:49 GMT 1
The fenugreek in the mix I threw together had to have been just a small amount. That is what I have been looking for, ingredients that could be squeezed into small seasoning bags. I'm going this weekend to look for nigella seeds. I'm also looking, again, at nutritional yeast. Vial F increasingly looks like my nutritional yeast.
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smallgree
Chef
Here is a vial recipe:
Posts: 1,398
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Post by smallgree on Feb 2, 2024 2:54:35 GMT 1
I just fried boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Breading was the modified Ledington recipe. I dry brined for two days with that mystery mix. I definitely have learned how to impregnate the chicken with flavor. I used dried milk and cornstarch and a little water to make a paste. I dipped in the flour first, then into the paste, and back into the flour. I fried at 350 for 4 to 5 minutes in a deep cast iron Dutch oven using hydrogenated pork lard. Breading stuck 100%. The flavor is outstanding. This process of blending separate groups with msg and salt works. We'll see tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm going to make another sandwich.
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smallgree
Chef
Here is a vial recipe:
Posts: 1,398
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Post by smallgree on Feb 3, 2024 10:40:43 GMT 1
I'm throwing together a licorice recipe. If it works, mea culpa. If it doesn't, then it's on to the brass ring.
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Post by Silver on Feb 3, 2024 11:35:33 GMT 1
I'm throwing together a licorice recipe. If it works, mea culpa. If it doesn't, then it's on to the brass ring. Be careful to source an anethole oil licorice (as it's only one of several licorice oils, and it's not what is in the likes of licorice candies), and be careful with weights. And beware that Fennel has potent odd flavors more appropriate to Italian sausages than to chicken. Best to stick with Anise Seed or attempt Star-Anise.
Fresh French Tarragon delivers a mild estragole oil based licorice. No idea how much would be required. My store bought dried Tarragon herb has nary a hint of any licorice. Some claim that theirs does taste of licorice. So the dried herb must vary wildly in this regard.
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cman
Kitchen Assistent
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Post by cman on Feb 3, 2024 18:20:57 GMT 1
Smallgree, I tried putting in fenugreek to the KFC standard 11 H & S. It sends the mix aroma and taste to a garam masala direction. I believe that adding the cumin would send it even more so to garam masala. As I stated before, your chili competitions may have changed your taste or even made fenugreek and cumin se sensation lowered. Btw, is when is the next tournament?
On a related matter, An Indian Indian friend of mine who is a fried chicken enthusiast has stated that the KFC in the US is very different from the KFC in India.
Perhaps it’s a local or regional ingredient similar to your “African wild grasses “. Not a knock on anyone.
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cman
Kitchen Assistent
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Post by cman on Feb 3, 2024 19:26:32 GMT 1
Spruce Eats says Fenugreek in Garam Masala. But my Indian friend just corrected the info by saying that fenugreek is not in Garam Masala. It is in Curry which was affected by the British. myfoodstory.com/garam-masala-recipe/
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smallgree
Chef
Here is a vial recipe:
Posts: 1,398
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Post by smallgree on Feb 4, 2024 3:20:54 GMT 1
I travel all of the roads. I have not proclaimed fenugreek, only that it was in the mystery mix, and I detected it.
I don't believe that CHS contemplated anethole oil licorice content when he created the recipe. I have always believed the story that while at his hunting lodge, another member, with permission, took CHS's chicken recipe and threw in a little of all of the spices and herbs found in the kitchen. It was so good, that CHS paid him a small amount of money to make the recipe his.
I guess what I'm maintaining is that CHS didn't spend many years developing the final OR, but that it was actually just an accident. The hint that blind luck had a role in the creation of the recipe, was the "two handfuls" of something thrown into the mix which finished the recipe. To me this was a Freudian slip to ease his conscience about claiming total credit for something which was just by chance.
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cman
Kitchen Assistent
Posts: 205
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Post by cman on Feb 5, 2024 13:31:18 GMT 1
I don't believe that CHS contemplated anethole oil licorice content when he created the recipe. I have always believed the story that while at his hunting lodge, another member, with permission, took CHS's chicken recipe and threw in a little of all of the spices and herbs found in the kitchen. It was so good, that CHS paid him a small amount of money to make the recipe his.
I guess what I'm maintaining is that CHS didn't spend many years developing the final OR, but that it was actually just an accident. The hint that blind luck had a role in the creation of the recipe, was the "two handfuls" of something thrown into the mix which finished the recipe. To me this was a Freudian slip to ease his conscience about claiming total credit for something which was just by chance.
Taking a contrarian view, I believe CHS had casted a wide net to Keep improving his product as competition was fierce. Almost all the households around him fried chicken and he had competition from other restaurants. So he had to find a way for customers to visit his restaurant by differentiating his product like any successful entrepreneur. That differentiating ingredient must be something that the normal household did not think of adding to the usual fried chicken. Nor is it an ingredient that cannot be normally obtained at a nearby grocery. I believe DFN has stated that MSG and bouillon was already available in groceries in the 40s. So households were already adding msg to their fried chicken. I’m starting to wonder what regional demographics were in his area to all of a sudden introduce a very spicy fried chicken if a bland crispy fried chicken was the norm. People who were raised eating bland foods have to worry about their gastrointestinal health. Or perhaps the region indeed was cooking Country fried chicken which took a lot longer than regular fried chicken. So, CHS simply made the household recipes popular and took the mothers and grandmas away from their kitchen.
I once knew someone from near Corbin, Kentucky and he related something interesting. He said that everyone in the area cooked their own KFC. They all knew the old process. All you need is a little oil and cover it. So, this tidbit buttresses my point that it was country fried chicken. Also, you had referenced Claudia’ process which is similar to the process described by the Kentuckian. Humorously, maybe that ingredient is the time saving pressure cooking.
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