ELIZE’S KFC BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN

12 chicken pieces
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried sage
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups cultured buttermilk
For the seasoned flour:
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
oil for deep-frying

Toss together chicken pieces, black pepper, salt, paprika, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, white pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl to coat. Stir in buttermilk until chicken is coated. Refrigerate for 6 hours.
Combine flour, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, white pepper, and onion powder in a large shallow dish.
(You can use a zip-lock bag to toss chicken in flour, quicker method).
Remove chicken from the buttermilk and dredge each piece in the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess and transfer to a plate. Heat the oil in a large wok to 175 ºC. Add half the chicken to the wok at a time and deep-fry for 10 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and fry for another 10 – 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the oil and transfer to a cooling rack set over a paper towel lined baking sheet. Rest chicken for 10 minutes before serving.

KFC Gravy.
1 beef bouillon cube
2 cups of boiling water
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of cake flour
¼ teaspoon each black pepper, garlic powder, sage
1 teaspoon of Aromat

Start by dissolving the beef bouillon cube in the boiling water. Once that’s ready, in a separate saucepan, melt the butter and slowly incorporate the flour in the butter over low heat to create a roux. Cook the roux until it turns lightly golden, then slowly pour in the bouillon water, turn the heat up to medium, and stir until smooth and creamy. Add in the black pepper, garlic powder, sage and Aromat and you’ll have gravy just like at KFC, if not better!

Recipe and Photo: Elize de Kock