Kentucky Fried Chicken… in Kentucky! When’s that ever gonna happen?!
TONY LIP, GREEN BOOK, DIRECTED BY PETER FARRELLY
LIP
This might be the best Kentucky Fried Chicken I ever had. But I guess it’s fresher down here, right?DR. SHIRLEY
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with your appetite.LIP
No, I bought the bucket so you could have some.DR. SHIRLEY
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with your appetite.LIP
No, I bought the bucket so you could have some.DR. SHIRLEY
I’ve never had fried chicken in my life.LIP
Who you bullshittin’? You people love the fried chicken, the grits, the colored greens…I love it, too. The negro cooks used to make it when I was in the army.DR. SHIRLEY
You have a very narrow assessmentof me, Tony.LIP: Yeah, I’m good, right?
DR. SHIRLEY
GREEN BOOK, 2018, DIRECTED BY PETER FARRELLY
What? No. No, you’re not good, you’re bad. I’m saying, just because other negro people listen to a certain kind of music doesn’t mean I have to. Nor do we all have to eat the same food.
I’m SO EXCITED to start off my Academy Awards nominated movies recipe series with a particular favorite of mine from the movie, Green Book. The movie stars the amazing Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who are both nominated for Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actor. They were both so, so wonderful in their roles as Tony Lip and Dr. Shirley.
This recipe for KFC fried chicken comes from a scene in the movie when they’re driving through Kentucky and Frank wanted to stop by to get some chicken. While I could have easily just purchased a bucket of chicken, I decided to use the infamous leaked recipe instead. If you haven’t heard, back in 2016, the supposed secret spices were released. You can read the whole story about it on the Chicago Tribune.
While the recipe does come quite similar, the fry itself is quite different. The fried chicken I made had a beautiful mahogany color finish which is the complete opposite of KFC’s lightly golden brown chicken. The spices itself are very close. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Please enjoy.
Green Book: KFC Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken cut into 10 pieces (2 wings, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 breast pieces cut in half)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2/3 tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp celery salt
- 1 tbsp dried mustard
- 2 tbsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1/3 tbsp oregano
- 4 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tbsp thyme
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a bowl, soak the chicken in the buttermilk for 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator, covered.
- In a bowl, combine all the spices with the all purpose flour. Mix to combine.
- When the chicken is ready, heat the vegetable oil in a deep cast iron pan over medium high heat. Heat the oil up to 350F-360F.
- While the oil is heating up, drain the chicken and dredge the chicken in the flour mixture. Dust off any excess and carefully lay it into the hot oil. Dry until golden brown (about 12 minutes) and the internal temperature reaches 165F.
- Remove the chicken and drain on a rack. Serve hot.
