I decided to do a chicken experiment that was inspired by a couple of different posts. The first was "fried" chicken on the PBC, https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...etter-than-kfc. The second was this one, https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...before-the-70s, where a discussion of the KFC pressure cooker led to a link to the leaked KFC original recipe that appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 2016. So I decided to try combining the two, using a Weber kettle and vortex.
I followed the PBC chicken recipe for the flour and Panko and baking powder, then substituted the KFC spices for the flavoring. I then followed the corn starch, club soda, flour mixture double battering technique. I used chicken thighs for this cook.
I used a full chimney to fuel the vortex in the kettle, and put the thighs on right after dumping the coals.
Then I put the lid on and let them go for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I flipped them and let them go another 10 minutes. The thighs were then probing at about 190-195, so I pulled them. (Besides, the kids were getting hungry).
Here's the final result:
After this cook, there are a few things I would do differently. There were some dry spots on the batter at the flip, and I could not find a spray bottle to save my life. So I need to make sure I have it next time. I think a club soda spritz would be most appropriate for this recipe.
The second was the amount of spices that went into the flour/panko/baking powder. I had learned this once with fried vs roasted turkey and was reminded by this cook - roasting doesn't need as much spice, since you're not losing spices to the oil. The next time around, I'm going to scale down the KFC spices. The chicken was too peppery for the kids' tastes. The KFC recipe calls for tablespoons, and I'm going to try teaspoons instead in the same proportions.
The third was to change the club soda more often. I'm wondering if the drier pieces didn't react as much with the club soda since a few had preceded them in the wash and had already reacted with the cornstarch.
I think this is going to be a real winner once I get the spices dialed in. I'd rate it a solid B at the moment.
I followed the PBC chicken recipe for the flour and Panko and baking powder, then substituted the KFC spices for the flavoring. I then followed the corn starch, club soda, flour mixture double battering technique. I used chicken thighs for this cook.
I used a full chimney to fuel the vortex in the kettle, and put the thighs on right after dumping the coals.
Then I put the lid on and let them go for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I flipped them and let them go another 10 minutes. The thighs were then probing at about 190-195, so I pulled them. (Besides, the kids were getting hungry).
Here's the final result:
After this cook, there are a few things I would do differently. There were some dry spots on the batter at the flip, and I could not find a spray bottle to save my life. So I need to make sure I have it next time. I think a club soda spritz would be most appropriate for this recipe.
The second was the amount of spices that went into the flour/panko/baking powder. I had learned this once with fried vs roasted turkey and was reminded by this cook - roasting doesn't need as much spice, since you're not losing spices to the oil. The next time around, I'm going to scale down the KFC spices. The chicken was too peppery for the kids' tastes. The KFC recipe calls for tablespoons, and I'm going to try teaspoons instead in the same proportions.
The third was to change the club soda more often. I'm wondering if the drier pieces didn't react as much with the club soda since a few had preceded them in the wash and had already reacted with the cornstarch.
I think this is going to be a real winner once I get the spices dialed in. I'd rate it a solid B at the moment.
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