Re: I've watched a lot of copycat videos

On 1/24/2025 8:39 PM, BryanGSimmons wrote:

Most of them are crap.  This one is an exception.  Whatever my other flaws as a cook, I'm pretty discriminating about flavors, and even with my imperfect proportions of the seasonings, this was more reminiscent of the flavor of the Kentucky Fried Chicken I remember from childhood.  I had all of the spices, and went with the savory, rather than the allspice, because I've been making chicken gravy (most often faux chicken gravy with BTB) with summer savory for years.
 It's not just nostalgia.  There's a reason why KFC was such a hit. Certainly, part of its appeal was the way that the pressure frying affected the texture of the meat, but the seasoning transformed a rather moist skin into a delight.  The stuff that KFC has been selling for the past 40-some years is not made with the same seasoning.  I figure that part of the changes made were because of bean counting ingredient costs, but Americans in the late 1970s, and for a few decades after, seemed to be excited by blandness, in food and otherwise.  They liked umami, but not herbs, which were consigned to hair care products.
 The seasoning, in order of occurrence are salt, lots of pepper (black & white), savory, coriander, powdered ginger, thyme, sage, marjoram and msg. Egg and milk are used in the breading process.  Like I said, I believe this guy because I haven't tasted anything else that so much resembled the flavor of the KFC of my youth.  In fact, I'd say that out of the thousands of hours I've watched cooking videos (mostly a complete waste of time), this one is the single most valuable one.
 A final admission.  Today was an eventful day, and I forgot ginger twice, both in the chicken seasoning, and in the lovely stir fry I made this evening.
 

Do you have a link to the video or a recipe?  I haven't fried chicken at home in years, but I do have a cast iron chicken fryer.