KFC - Downhill?

This is primarily about the chicken pieces, as opposed to the burgers/wraps/sides.

I have memories of KFC being glorious in my younger years. Juicy, tender, and coupled with the gravy an absolute win.

We're not huge fast-food eaters by any stretch, but enjoy a nice bit of fried chicken. We've had KFC 3~ times in the last 18 months, each time thinking to myself 'that was awful' with it being dry, the coating thin and somewhat tasteless compared to the glory days of my youth.

You naively hope that the store was just having a bad day, or it was someone new who didn't cook it to a normal standard. But 3 times in a row resulting in disappointment begs the question, has the recipe/quality of the aforementioned juicy goodness simply declined over time?
It's been awful for at least a decade.
 
yeah, my local one when it opened in the 90s was nice but it's been dire for decades IME. Used to really like the Zinger Burgers but they changed the recipe/batter/toppings at some point and now they're vile unfortunately.
 
I went recently as I just fancied a the chicken tenders. It's definitely not as good as it used to be and I spent the rest of the night drinking water presumably because it was full of salt.

I've since found a local independent that does a much better job, granted at a higher price but you get what you pay for.
 
You’ll never get that skin tasting the same. Many have tried, all have failed.
i tried a couple of these and it was very close to KFC.. granted the other foods in his list is subjective.. but i have tried mandy different recipes too.. this was one of the only ones i could find which retains the crispiness

 
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Anyone ever tried KFC in Thailand? I’m over there later in the year and have heard good things about their local specialty (loads of line and chilli in the batter)?
 
My local KFC has had a bit of a resurgence pf late on the actual chicken piece front. The last couple of times it has gone back to the old moist where it needs to be moist and crispy where it needs to be crispy piece format. Still not quite like the old old days, but much better than the dried husks they'd normally serve up in recent years. I always get a 3 piece meal, nothing fancy, and it also helps that I have recently started with first eating the scrag end piece you always get, which is usually the bit with no skin and is really dry. For whatever reason I always left this piece till last, but after 30 years of eating KFC I suddenly realised I clearly should be eating that piece first to get it out the way. Always get some hot wings, they have never changed. The chips still are absolutely abysmal though.
 
I have memories of KFC being glorious in my younger years. Juicy, tender, and coupled with the gravy an absolute win.
Chicken went down hill as a whole, they aren't the same birds people were eating 20+ years ago

Chickens went from being small and lean too getting fattier and fattier with every generation
 
An air fryer is just a small oven. ‘Air fry’ is simply a marketing term.

KFC use pressure fryers, like a pressure cooker but with oil, can’t recreate that in an oven.
Small oven that sits on the worktop is not as catchy as Air Fryer though.

I've done plenty KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) in the air fryer as well as simple fried chicken and yes, it is not the same as KFC or Korean take-aways, but haven't has any complaints and tbh it is not a million miles away from what KFC knock out, which evident from this thread, is probably not a bad thing.
 
Small oven that sits on the worktop is not as catchy as Air Fryer though.

I've done plenty KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) in the air fryer as well as simple fried chicken and yes, it is not the same as KFC or Korean take-aways, but haven't has any complaints and tbh it is not a million miles away from what KFC knock out, which evident from this thread, is probably not a bad thing.
and its healthier too since you aren't coating it in oil.. but agree its not the same
 
KFC use pressure fryers, like a pressure cooker but with oil, can’t recreate that in an oven.

Yup was going to post this as well.

I have a deep fat fryer, and even in that it's not quite the same.

I once looked up a pressure fryer "broiler" I think????? A used gas fired commercial one was about £3k.

I made a big deep fryer out of a used calor gas bottle and an outdoor gas burner, works really well you can do a ton of chicken in it at once, I originally made it to cook a whole turkey which I have done once.

The KFC recipe has been leaked online, so with that at a bit of practice you can get pretty close, but without a pressure fryer you can't get it quite as good.

Edit: seems like everything these are more expensive now:

 
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Small oven that sits on the worktop is not as catchy as Air Fryer though.
Agreed although air fry has absolutely nothing to do with the small oven that it is! How they get away with it makes me wonder! I genuinely thought it was a healthier fryer when I first heard the term!!
 
I've done plenty KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) in the air fryer as well as simple fried chicken and yes, it is not the same as KFC or Korean take-aways, but haven't has any complaints and tbh it is not a million miles away from what KFC knock out, which evident from this thread, is probably not a bad thing.
Yes Korean fried chicken is done in open basket fryers so easier to recreate.

Sorry I cant work out the multi quote thing!
 
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Yup was going to post this as well.

I have a deep fat fryer, and even in that it's not quite the same.

I once looked up a pressure fryer "broiler" I think????? A used gas fired commercial one was about £3k.

I made a big deep fryer out of a used calor gas bottle and an outdoor gas burner, works really well you can do a ton of chicken in it at once, I originally made it to cook a whole turkey which I have done once.

The KFC recipe has been leaked online, so with that at a bit of practice you can get pretty close, but without a pressure fryer you can't get it quite as good.

Edit: seems like everything these are more expensive now:

Yes that’s what they use in KFC and the chicken shops. Can be nasty if not maintained. Imagine one ‘blowing’ with +300 degree oil inside!
 
Agreed although air fry has absolutely nothing to do with the small oven that it is! How they get away with it makes me wonder! I genuinely thought it was a healthier fryer when I first heard the term!!

Having a few different types of 'Air Fryer' that include steam/air fry, probe and other types of cooking, including the latest that adds sous vide I feel the name has carried on but has failed to update to reflect how they have changed from the early days of basic air fryers.
 
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