KFC Original Recipe

While perfecting his secret recipe with 11 herbs and spices, Sanders found that pan frying chicken was too slow, requiring 30 minutes per order.

[5] Sanders' Original Recipe of "11 herbs and spices" is one of the most famous trade secrets in the catering industry.

[12] On the other hand, Allen Adamson, managing director of brand consultancy Landor, remains unconvinced about the contribution of the secret formula aspect.

"[13] A copy of the recipe, signed by Sanders, is stored within a vault at KFC's Louisville headquarters, along with 11 separate vials that each contain one of the ingredients.

[16] In 1983, William Poundstone conducted laboratory research into the coating mix, as described in his book Big Secrets, and claimed that a sample he examined contained only flour, salt, monosodium glutamate and black pepper.

[20] The Marion-Kay seasoning is still sold under the name "99-X", and according to Sanders biographer Josh Ozersky, it is indistinguishable from the original KFC recipe.

[20] In August 2016, the Chicago Tribune reported that Joe Ledington of Kentucky, a nephew by marriage of Colonel Sanders, had claimed to have found a copy of the original KFC fried chicken recipe on a handwritten piece of paper in an envelope in a scrapbook.

After some trial and error, they decided the chicken should be soaked in buttermilk and coated once in the breading mixture, then fried in oil at 350 °F (177 °C) in a pressure fryer until golden brown.