Nashville Hot Chicken comes to ... KFC!?

[Robin Garr]

This pretty much has to signal that the trend has already jumped the shark, doesn't it? Is it here in Louisville yet? Anybody tried it?

http://www.kfc.com/menu/chicken/nashville-hot-chicken

[Robin Garr]

Looks pretty good. Of course, fast-food ad photography rarely resembles the actual dish ...

When I saw hot chicken on an O'Charley's commercial, I thought, okay, that's enough! Won't stop me from eating it at the good places, though.

I read somewhere (LouMag?) that the Royal's cooking method and/or seasoning was modeled after the old KFC, so perhaps things have come full circle.

[Robin Garr]

I read somewhere (LouMag?) that the Royal's cooking method and/or seasoning was modeled after the old KFC, so perhaps things have come full circle.

Maybe Ryan could check in, but I assumed so from the Royals menu reference to "pressure frying." That sure sounds like the original method, the pressure cookers that the colonel used to carry around in the back of his car (and later were made in a small factory in Bluegrass Industrial Park). Do you know if they still use anything like that method, Silvio, or is it just regular frying now?

Pressure frying it is -- in the CJ, of all places. I have not tried it yet, hope to sometime this month.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/en ... /78019556/

Recalling my child labor past when I worked at the KFC at the end of Goose Creek Rd. And Westport (more recently the great Turkish place and then Korean, now dark...), Original recipe is pressure fried, Crispy is cooked in open fryers. KFC has had a hot chicken product for years that was only available in urban markets, along with mean greens and dirty rice. Think Indi's style, not Nashville. Not sure if that still exists. For a while you could get it at the defunct store on East Broadway.

Chick FilA uses pressure fryers, which tells me that method works perfectly.

KFC food as well as any fast food can be really good. The trick is to get it when it is freshly made. Shoe string fries probably have a 5 minute hold at the most. Stores went to batter which adds some hold to fries.
Winston Shelton who worked with family at GE back in the 50s developed those pressure fryers and holding cabinets that you see everywhere.
KFC at one point had huge fryers for high volume stores plus the open fryers for crispy chicken, fries, etc and the pressure fryers for original recipe - various types. Pressure fryers, the chicken is racked; the open fryers, the chicken can be racked or dropped by hand. (The shortening should be 'dropped' each time to remove chicken.)
KFC had 'hot and spicy' chicken for years but in certain markets with designated fryers. Part of the problem, they wouldn't make it hot enough. Didn't make sense to make it almost like 'extra tasty crispy' but they did.
I don't know what KFC back of the house is like now, but when I worked in R&D, it was the most labor intensive method. Can't imagine working in a store version. You want to make shortcuts but that can result in quality issues or at least not reproducible results.
I've always felt they should reduce the amount of time that menu is served, maybe 5-8:00 during the week and longer on the weekend.
It was a good 7 years but cooking chicken almost everyday, got to be too much.

Herman brought a sample home this evening. Pretty good I must say. He reports that for $5.49 you get a choice of two dark pieces or a breast with Cole slaw and a biscuit. No pickles, which I think are essential. Luckily we have a jar of Pop's Habagardils in the fridge always. It is crispy, with requisite spice paste added. It has a nice heat the comes on and lasts a bit. We like heat. It is not wimpy in that regard. We didn't find it overly salty, and not too wet, so the crust stays crisp. We liked it. If you are spice/heat averse, this is not your thing!

I tried it yesterday, it was pretty good, I'd probably buy it again. Not sure how it would stack up with other places, I've never tried 'em.

We had it at my house tonight and it was pretty darn good. Seemed to be the standard extra crispy chicken slathered with spice paste. Ours came with pickles.

I'll agree, it's good, but just not spicy enough for me. I watched them pull it from the warming tray and smother it in a sauce from a squeeze bottle. Thigh, leg, slaw, and biscuit for $6.

For three bucks more (minus the biscuit), I'll probably stick with the local places. That said, I'll probably try it at some point -- have not even had regular KFC in ages. Always liked the biscuits and wedges.

Dude don't like it.

I am not a fan of KFC chicken, original or crispy--I much prefer Popeye's or Kings. I decided to try the Nashville not today since there is a KFC just around the corner. My verdict: best KFC chicken I've had. I'd eat it again.