The Colonelโs 11 herbs and spices are a secret guarded more closely than the most confidential CIA briefings (weโre talking armoured trucks, secure briefcases, and an actual vault). A couple who apparently found a copy found out the hard way when KFC threatened to sue. But just a few years ago, this crucial element of the KFC recipe was inadvertently revealed by none other than, Joe Ledington, Harland Sandersโ own nephew.
Back in 2016, Mr Ledington was interviewed for an otherwise unremarkable travel article about the Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum.
โLedington and I shake hands, and I tell him about the assignment that brought me to this part of southeast Kentucky,โ recounted Jay Jones of the Chicago Tribune.
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โBefore I can even open my notebook, he draws my attention to the photo album overstuffed with pictures, newspaper clippings and various family documents.โ
โThe album, with its nondescript cover and clear cellophane sheets, looks like the kind I used to buy for a buck at Walgreens. Ledington turns the pages, occasionally stopping to point out certain pictures, like the one of him posing with his famous uncle and others taken at the opening of a KFC in some faraway land.โ
Joe Ledington eventually piqued Jay Jonesโ interest with his dear Aunt Claudiaโs last will and testament. Though not because of the last will and testament itself. You see, on the back of this document was a handwritten note.
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โAt the top of the page, in blue ink, it reads, 11 Spices โ Mix With 2 Cups White Fl. Thatโs followed by an enumerated list of herbs and spices. Eleven herbs and spices. And the measurements for each,โ wrote Jay Jones.
Ledington would confirm this was indeed the original 11 herbs and spices โwith convictionโ at the time, before โ[dialling] back his certaintyโ and expressing reluctance to elaborate during a subsequent follow-up interview with the Chicago Tribuneโs editor.
During the damage control phase of this entire saga, a KFC spokesperson told The New York Times: โMany people have made these claims over the years and no one has been accurate โ this one isnโt either.โ
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In defiance of this claim, the Chicago Tribune test kitchen even tried the recipe firsthand, comparing what they cooked to the modern product, which yielded even greater results than expected.
โHow was it? Well, really good. In fact, tasters agreed the test kitchen fried chicken was even better than the Colonelโs,โ wrote Joe Gray.
โBut more important, did it taste like the Colonelโs secret blend of herbs and spices? It came very close, yet something was still missing.โ
After adding a dash of MSG to the blend, theyโd effectively achieved an identical match.
Check out the 11 secret herbs and spices as outlined by the original KFC recipe below:
KFC Recipe: Original 11 Secret Herbs & Spices
โ11 spices โ mix with 2 cups of white flourโฆโ
- 2/3 teaspoons of salt
- 1/2 teaspoons of thyme
- 1/2 teaspoons of basil
- 1/3 teaspoons of oregano
- 1 teaspoon of celery salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of dried mustard
- 4 teaspoons of paprika
- 2 teaspoons of garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 3 teaspoons of white pepper
*Add MSG for the modern recipe
โThe big thing we did was mix it with flour and bag it up and sell it to restaurants,โ explained Joe Ledington.
โActually, my job was cutting up chickens and bagging up chicken mix. Thatโs what I did as a 10-11-12-year-old kid.โ
โThe main ingredient is white pepper. I call that the secret ingredient. Nobody [in the 1950s] knew what white pepper was. Nobody knew how to use it.โ
Identical results not guaranteed (but a finger lickinโ good time is).
