KFC: Their Spices Are Addictive & So Is Their Cole Slaw!
Written: Oct 19 '05 (Updated Oct 19 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Basic recipe chicken, wings and coleslaw
Cons: Way over-cooked, waterlogged corn on the cob, high sodium content in general
The Bottom Line: If you're not on a salt-restricted diet, exercising cautious use of these finger licking good products will bring smiles of bliss, tummy contentment and only slightly increased poundage your way.
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| kcfoxy's Full Review: KFC |
On a stretch of uptown boulevard, appropriately, but not originally named The Miracle Mile we have an onslaught of Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Irish, Italian, Ice Cream, Burger and Chicken eateries that I am still strongly convinced, all aim their kitchen uptake fans all in the direction of unsuspecting, and now ravenous passersby.
I can still remember when they tore down the local Foster's to make room for the Colonel's bright white and red Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. Their wafting steam of fragrant fried chicken seemed even more enticing than the competing franchises' olfactory come-ons.
And from that day to this, I've never found a better seasoned fried chicken coating, though I've vainly searched Todd Wilbur's famous Top Secret recipe website, invested in books purported to emulate said seasoning, and made plenty of experiments on my own.
Let's see, my best guess: pepper, salt, onion and garlic powders, paprika, turmeric, sage and then what? Still 4 more unknown spices to go, and not even franchise employees know the Kentucky-fried secret formula. A rumor has it that one of the remaining unknown-of the 11 herbs and spices-although I hope it isn't so, would be MSG.
Wilbur himself suggests a packet of dry Italian dressing
as a jumping off point, whereas I'm leaning toward Old Bay seasoning, perhaps blended with a bit of the salad dressing powder...there's just something there that's downright...addicting.
Purported to be pressure fried, this meaty chicken is both moist, and either mildly crispy or crispy, (that's their extra crispy, which translates into extra flour in the batter and a break from the last few minutes of pressure frying or perhaps another dip into vegetable oil, this time uncovered.
The usual sides, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob and cole slaw and biscuits are available, either a la carte or package of the 2, 3 or 4 piece meal deals, or the value tubs. Green beans, BBQ baked beans and macaroni and cheese are also available, though I haven't tried any of the latter.
The gravy, biscuits, potatoes and wedge fries are average, the corn on the cob is abysmally soggy and overcooked, but the cole slaw, the slightly sweet, style crunchy, minutely grated and a bit gloppy cole slaw is totally awesome.
If planning a lighter meal*, you can also chose between a handful of chicken salads, including roasted, crispy and BLT, or a regular and Caesar side salad. Optional cheesy garlic croutons will add both calories and crunch, but it was heartening to see at least a couple Light or Fat Free dressings mixed in with the regular Ranch and Caesar types.
In our household, Mr. Big loves wings and fried chicken skin, I love boneless white meat and anything resembling chicken tenders, (not loathsome pressed nuggets, mind you). KFC pleases us both with regular and boneless wings and their version of deep fried filets.
Chose from Honey Barbecue, Spicy or Spicy Hot Buffalo varieties of their sauces, and in drive thru, always check your bags of goodies before driving off. Sure, there's the temptation to just zoom away, but stuff like napkins, utensils and sauces occasionally don't seem to make it in the goodie bags.
Other favorites include the tubs, $8-15,though you'll pay more for the white meat wings and breasts-many of our tubs came with a single breast and maybe a wing or two, and the Snack Sandwiches and Twister Wraps, which include moist breast meat, lettuce and tomato for about $4.
Soft drinks are available, (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Fruit Punch), and 2% milk, but desserts are not what they could be. Who remembers those excellent little mini and family fruit and cream pies with the flaky crusts? It was hard to choose between coconut, chocolate or lemon cream, and the seasonal favorite, packed with big ripe, glazed strawberries. Rumor had it, that Marie Callender supplied those pastry shells, and I miss them quite a lot.
Instead, you can get individually wrapped 'slices' of Lemon Meringue, Apple or Pecan Pie, Double Chocolate Chip Cake or KFC's own Lil' Buckets...the Strawberry Shortcake isn't too bad.
*Nutrition: The Good, Bad and the Ugly
Your Doctor was right. Fast food tends to be high fat, high calorie and high sodium. At KFC, it's hard to get around the latter, but I found a few ways to fill my tummy without seriously stressing clothing seams or popping buttons.
The Roasted Chicken Salad is a good bet, with plenty of tender, moist white meat chicken, and the option of the Hidden Valley Ranch No Fat Dressing. Generally, I prefer Light or Lowfat over Nonfat, as a matter of taste, but sticking to what's offered and choosing a diet soda, I came in at 260 calories, 14 Grams Carbs, 3 Grams fiber, 30 Grams of protein but a whopping 1,260 milligrams of sodium-over half of the prudent, recommended daily maximum.
I decided to check out their available nutrition chart, (same information as available on the KFC website, only you'll have to do the math if planning your nutritional expenditures for a whole meal), but here are some sample values, each a single or super-sized single portion:
1 Extra Crispy Recipe chicken breast, skin on: 440 calories, 28 Gm fat, 19 Gm carbs, 34 Gm protein and 1,230 mg sodium.
Large Size Popcorn Chicken, (not Family Size): 560 Calories, 31 Gm fat, 34 Gm carbs, 36 Gm protein and 1,790 mg of sodium, (FYI:2,000 mg sodium-or 2 Grams-is the daily maximum recommended for a prudent diet)
Individual Chicken Pot Pie: 770 Calories, 40 Gm fat, 70 Gm carbs, 33 Gm protein and 1,680 mg sodium
1 Honey BBQ Snacker: 220 calories, 3.5 Gm fat, 32 Gm carbs, 15 Gm protein and 490 mg sodium
Individual Cole Slaw: 190 calories, 11 Gm fat, 22 Gm Carbs and 300 mg sodium
Caesar Side Salad, (with the diet ranch dressing mentioned above): 90 calories, 3 Gm fat, 10 Gm carbs, 5 Gm protein and 550 mg sodium
Final Thoughts And Ratings
We've mainly used this restaurant's drive thru services, and Joe Pesci was right about drive thrus, and we generally do check for completeness. The staff have been good when something was amiss and more cheerful for extra sauce requests than say Mickey D's, where I'm thinking these poor kids may actually have a daily condiment quota.
The few times we've ventured inside the premises, the bathrooms have been clean, and the eating areas reasonably so, depending rather exponentially on amount of toddlers present at the time.
After reading some of the nutritional stats above, it's heartening to know there are diet sodas, skim milk, reduced fat dressings and boneless, skinless chicken items available, but even as I dutifully down my 140 calorie skinless, boneless (half) chicken breast, my hands are drawn as if by magic to the flavorful crumbs of crispy breading from my Other Half's personal 8 piece tub.
Wilbur's very good website, mentioned above, provided credible regular and reduced fat versions of this lovely cole slaw that help me satisfy my foodie's 'jones' when the Colonel's variety is unobtainable.
I adore fast food, and spots like Popeye's and Chick-fil-A are high contenders along with KFC for chicken done right. As long as it's not a daily fast food diet, and I carefully watch the sodium for the rest of the day's intake, my triglyceride, cholesterol and blood pressure readings, (aided with a wee bit of medication, don't ya know), will continue to please my PCP.
5 stars for chicken and cole slaw, 3 stars for sides and desserts, 4 stars for everything else equals 4 stars. Recommended...within moderation!
Recommended:
Yes
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kcfoxy
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Member: Casey Stewart
Location: West Coast Of Mars
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