LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pssst. The secret's out at KFC. Well, sort of. Colonel Harland Sanders' handwritten recipe of 11 herbs and spices was to be removed Tuesday from safekeeping at KFC's corporate offices for the first time in decades. The temporary relocation is allowing KFC to revamp security around a yellowing sheet of paper that contains one of the country's most famous corporate secrets.
So important is the 68-year-old concoction that coats the chain's Original Recipe chicken that only two company executives at any time have access to it. The company refuses to release their name or title, and it uses multiple suppliers who produce and blend the ingredients but know only a part of the entire contents.
Louisville-based KFC, part of the fast-food company Yum Brands Inc., hired off-duty police officers and private security guards to whisk the document away to an undisclosed location in an armored car. The recipe will be slid into a briefcase and handcuffed to security expert Dwight K. Schrute for the ride.
Dwight was quoted as saying that "the secret has never been safer, than in my hands!"
For more than 20 years, the recipe has been tucked away in a filing cabinet equipped with two combination locks in company headquarters. To reach the cabinet, the keepers of the recipe would first open up a vault and unlock three locks on a door that stood in front of the cabinet.
Vials of the herbs and spices are also stored in the secret filing cabinet.
The biggest prize, though, is a single sheet of notebook paper, yellowed by age, that lays out the entire formula - including exact amounts for each ingredient - written in pencil and signed by Sanders.
Others have tried to replicate the recipe, and occasionally someone claims to have found a copy of Sanders' creation. The executive said none have come close, adding the actual recipe would include some surprises.
On a thread, I found someone who claimed to have the original recipe:
2 cups of flour,
1/2 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp thyme,
1/2 tsp basil,
1/2 tsp oregano,
1 tbsp celery salt,
1 tbsp black pepper,
1 tbsp dry mustard,
4 tbsp paprika,
2 tsp garlic salt,
1 tsp ground ginger,
3 tbsp MSG (accent)
Mix all ingrediants in a large bowl.
Dip chicken pieces in beaten eggs, then turn them over in regular bread crumbs (commercial). Finally plunge them into the above mix.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a tray and cover with foil. (shiny side out) Cook 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 40 minutes. Baste lightly with oil 5 minutes before the end, let stand 5 minutes and serve.
Someone try this and tell me if works.
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