Colonel Saunders' Original Recipe for Gravy

I read up on something interesting, when KFC became huge, they changed the recipe for the chicken and the gravy. Apparently the colonel really hated the gravy and said it wasn't fit for his dog. So I did a little searching and found the original recipe for his real gravy, the one that he claimed was so good, you didn't even need his chicken to eat it with.

Colonel Sanders Original "Cracklin Gravy 1952-1964" (Large Tub size)
1 TBSP butter (not margarine!!)
1/4 cup Original Recipe breading flour
1/2 cup cracklings strained from the pressure cooker or frying pan
1 cup whole milk - cold
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup whole cream - cold


Put the butter, flour and cracklings into a frying pan over low to medium heat. Stir continuously until the ingredients are fully blended and the raw flour is lightly browned. This takes a few minutes. The roux should not be darker than peanut butter brown. If you burn it, dump it, clean the pan start again. (If you are a novice gravy maker you might want to save your cracklins until the end so you won't waste them on a burned batch.)
Gently pour the milk, hot water, and cream, continue stirring until it begins to thicken. Taste the gravy and add extra salt or pepper if needed. Allow the mixture to come to a light boil, when it is the thickness you want turn off the heat and serve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/mq5ty/original_kfc_recipe_as_determined_by_a_group_of/

Too much fat for todays crowd, but amazing.

PoS said:

I read up on something interesting, when KFC became huge, they changed the recipe for the chicken and the gravy. Apparently the colonel really hated the gravy and said it wasn't fit for his dog. So I did a little searching and found the original recipe for his real gravy, the one that he claimed was so good, you didn't even need his chicken to eat it with.

Colonel Sanders Original "Cracklin Gravy 1952-1964" (Large Tub size)
1 TBSP butter (not margarine!!)
1/4 cup Original Recipe breading flour
1/2 cup cracklings strained from the pressure cooker or frying pan
1 cup whole milk - cold
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup whole cream - cold


Put the butter, flour and cracklings into a frying pan over low to medium heat. Stir continuously until the ingredients are fully blended and the raw flour is lightly browned. This takes a few minutes. The roux should not be darker than peanut butter brown. If you burn it, dump it, clean the pan start again. (If you are a novice gravy maker you might want to save your cracklins until the end so you won't waste them on a burned batch.)
Gently pour the milk, hot water, and cream, continue stirring until it begins to thicken. Taste the gravy and add extra salt or pepper if needed. Allow the mixture to come to a light boil, when it is the thickness you want turn off the heat and serve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/mq5ty/original_kfc_recipe_as_determined_by_a_group_of/

Click to expand...

I liked the gravy, but I didn't like the potatoes. Tasted like instant.

I learned this recipe in 1989 at the Munich Army Club (formerly the Officers Club) from an ancient chef. It was still a crowd pleaser.

Sounds delicious.

DaveFagan said:

I liked the gravy, but I didn't like the potatoes. Tasted like instant.

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THey have for quite a number of years now but I remember when I was a kid KFC had great potatoes, slaw and pretty much everything... now its all very disappointing. the slaw is watery and bland, the potatoes do have that instant taste now. the chicken is greasier than it used to be. its too bad.

PoS, I'm sure you have been in a KFC in Manila. How trippy was it to find spaghetti, rice and all that on the menu.. or that KFC delivers there.

SocialD said:

THey have for quite a number of years now but I remember when I was a kid KFC had great potatoes, slaw and pretty much everything... now its all very disappointing. the slaw is watery and bland, the potatoes do have that instant taste now. the chicken is greasier than it used to be. its too bad.

Click to expand...

kids don't have good taste. look around at all the kids today who eat crap like McDonald's.

PoS said:

I read up on something interesting, when KFC became huge, they changed the recipe for the chicken and the gravy. Apparently the colonel really hated the gravy and said it wasn't fit for his dog. So I did a little searching and found the original recipe for his real gravy, the one that he claimed was so good, you didn't even need his chicken to eat it with.

Colonel Sanders Original "Cracklin Gravy 1952-1964" (Large Tub size)
1 TBSP butter (not margarine!!)
1/4 cup Original Recipe breading flour
1/2 cup cracklings strained from the pressure cooker or frying pan
1 cup whole milk - cold
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup whole cream - cold


Put the butter, flour and cracklings into a frying pan over low to medium heat. Stir continuously until the ingredients are fully blended and the raw flour is lightly browned. This takes a few minutes. The roux should not be darker than peanut butter brown. If you burn it, dump it, clean the pan start again. (If you are a novice gravy maker you might want to save your cracklins until the end so you won't waste them on a burned batch.)
Gently pour the milk, hot water, and cream, continue stirring until it begins to thicken. Taste the gravy and add extra salt or pepper if needed. Allow the mixture to come to a light boil, when it is the thickness you want turn off the heat and serve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/mq5ty/original_kfc_recipe_as_determined_by_a_group_of/

Click to expand...

What are 'cracklins'? Do you mean crispy roasted pork skins?

I have to say, that doesn't sound like a very appetising gravy to me. Cream, flour and milk? To me the best gravy is made directly from deglazing a pan in which you've just roasted some meat, using a bit of wine. You add some good quality stock and boil the liquid down by a half over a high heat. Add a little starch (cornflour, mashed potato or gram flour), seasoning and serve.

PoS said:

I read up on something interesting, when KFC became huge, they changed the recipe for the chicken and the gravy. Apparently the colonel really hated the gravy and said it wasn't fit for his dog. So I did a little searching and found the original recipe for his real gravy, the one that he claimed was so good, you didn't even need his chicken to eat it with.

Colonel Sanders Original "Cracklin Gravy 1952-1964" (Large Tub size)
1 TBSP butter (not margarine!!)
1/4 cup Original Recipe breading flour
1/2 cup cracklings strained from the pressure cooker or frying pan
1 cup whole milk - cold
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup whole cream - cold


Put the butter, flour and cracklings into a frying pan over low to medium heat. Stir continuously until the ingredients are fully blended and the raw flour is lightly browned. This takes a few minutes. The roux should not be darker than peanut butter brown. If you burn it, dump it, clean the pan start again. (If you are a novice gravy maker you might want to save your cracklins until the end so you won't waste them on a burned batch.)
Gently pour the milk, hot water, and cream, continue stirring until it begins to thicken. Taste the gravy and add extra salt or pepper if needed. Allow the mixture to come to a light boil, when it is the thickness you want turn off the heat and serve.

https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/mq5ty/original_kfc_recipe_as_determined_by_a_group_of/

Click to expand...

Hey, that's cool. I'm going to try it.

Andalublue said:

What are 'cracklins'? Do you mean crispy roasted pork skins?

I have to say, that doesn't sound like a very appetising gravy to me. Cream, flour and milk? To me the best gravy is made directly from deglazing a pan in which you've just roasted some meat, using a bit of wine. You add some good quality stock and boil the liquid down by a half over a high heat. Add a little starch (cornflour, mashed potato or gram flour), seasoning and serve.

Click to expand...

The cracklings are the leftover bits from the fried chicken I believe (broken off breading and stuff). The milk and cream is a hallmark of country gravy, which is quite common in the south. The recipe in a way does start with deglazing the cooked bits while the milk takes the place of the flour.

DaveFagan said:

I liked the gravy, but I didn't like the potatoes. Tasted like instant.

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You know I actually prefer the taste of instant mash potatoes over the natural kind. I dont know why, maybe Im just weird.

PoS said:

The cracklings are the leftover bits from the fried chicken I believe (broken off breading and stuff). The milk and cream is a hallmark of country gravy, which is quite common in the south. The recipe in a way does start with deglazing the cooked bits while the milk takes the place of the flour.

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Thanks, if it was pork then I wouldn't try making it...

Now, the flour, is that any different than regular flour?

beefheart said:

Thanks, if it was pork then I wouldn't try making it...

Now, the flour, is that any different than regular flour?

Click to expand...

No, the flour is actually the colonel's secret recipe, which has been reconstructed by a few experts:

Seasoned Flour: (Large Batch)

4 cups cake flour - Low protein flour is very important here. (If you don't use low protein flour like cake flour or White Lily then the chicken coating will become very gluey, dense and hard. You also will need low protein flour for the biscuits) If you can find unbleached pastry flour it is ideal. The bleaching process allows manufacturers to include substandard parts of the wheat that can cause the breading to be tough.

4 tsp freshly ground white pepper; suggested variety; Sarawak from Malaysia

3 tsp freshly ground black pepper, suggested variety; Tellicherry from India (others prefer Lampong or Kampot peppercorns)

4 tsp freshly ground sage, suggested variety; Dalmatian

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground coriander, Indian

1 1/4 tsp high quality ground ginger; suggested variety is Jamaican

1 tsp freshly ground Ancho chile; Mexican; (Try your best to get Ancho chiles, they make a big difference. I don't know if the Col. toasted them first or not)

3/4 tsp freshly ground whole Tahitian (Raiatea) vanilla bean - it is important to use Tahitian, whole beans.

3/4 tsp freshly ground bay leaf; Turkish

3/4 tsp freshly ground savory; Canadian

1/2 tsp freshly ground cloves; East Indies

1/2 tsp freshly ground green cardamom; Guatamalan - (seeds only, don't include the pods)

1 tsp MSG

The salt is added after the chicken has been cooked, for each 4lb chicken use about 4ts popcorn salt. Some people find that too salty so you might want to reduce it some.

You need about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of this breading for a 3 1/2 to 4 lb bird plus extra for gravy. The original chicken was cut into 9 pcs and cooked in corn oil. The Colonel would use the flour mix left over after breading the chicken to make his famous milk gravy.

Apparently he used pressure cookers to cook his chicken quickly and evenly too.

cracklins are not my thing, especially in gravy

the following easy to cook recipe yields good flavor and mouth feel

start with equal portions of butter and flour (white lilly or martha white is preferred but not critical to a good outcome). low-medium heat the skillet and add butter. once it has melted and before it browns, spoon in an equal portion of the flour. [hint: if you added too much flour just add in more butter to get that ~50/50 ratio] keep stirring this roux until it at least turns a khaki color, and as was mentioned, that it does not exceed the darkness of peanut butter. the flour must be cooked through and it will not be if the roux is too light from under cooking
now pour chicken stock into the roux and continue to keep mixing everything to prevent it from sticking. pour lightly at first so that you can add more if it is needed. a whisk will be perfect at this time to keep the gravy from forming lumps
next, scoop a spoonful of minors chicken base and add it to the mixture
now add the milk/half & half/cream - they all work - and make sure everything comes to a boil
once the boil has been reached, turn the heat to low and add a small amount of more milk/cream/h&h
salt and pepper to taste. i sometimes add herbs from my wife's herb garden, but only because they are available, not because they are essential to make good gravy
gravy is now ready to eat

here's the chicken base; if you have a chef's store it will be found there:

PoS said:

No, the flour is actually the colonel's secret recipe, which has been reconstructed by a few experts:

Seasoned Flour: (Large Batch)

4 cups cake flour - Low protein flour is very important here. (If you don't use low protein flour like cake flour or White Lily then the chicken coating will become very gluey, dense and hard. You also will need low protein flour for the biscuits) If you can find unbleached pastry flour it is ideal. The bleaching process allows manufacturers to include substandard parts of the wheat that can cause the breading to be tough.

4 tsp freshly ground white pepper; suggested variety; Sarawak from Malaysia

3 tsp freshl........
-------------------------------------------------------------

SNIP

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Back in the 70's/80's even mom a pop places would get pressure cookers for their fried chicken (though they were pricey, as the owner of a Big Boy that I worked at told me), it was that important. Now I dont know that any of the big boys do. I know Churches does not. The only time in ten years I can recall seeing chicken done in the pressure cooker was at the long closed Albertson's deli (really tasty ****), that that does not mean for sure that I have not been in a place that does though......

Militant_Vegan_ said:

kids don't have good taste. look around at all the kids today who eat crap like McDonald's.

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Sure they do - you just don't like it.

Get over it.

SMTA said:

Sure they do - you just don't like it.

Get over it.

Click to expand...

wait a minute.

it was said the KFC is nowhere near as good as it used to be.

and kids still eat there.

so therefore they are eating worse food.

use some logic

do you eat at KFC for example?

Andalublue said:

What are 'cracklins'? Do you mean crispy roasted pork skins?

I have to say, that doesn't sound like a very appetising gravy to me. Cream, flour and milk? To me the best gravy is made directly from deglazing a pan in which you've just roasted some meat, using a bit of wine. You add some good quality stock and boil the liquid down by a half over a high heat. Add a little starch (cornflour, mashed potato or gram flour), seasoning and serve.

Click to expand...

That's usually how I make mine at Thanksgiving. Sadly, there's never enough homemade to go around so I have to make extra from a packet.

PoS said:

You know I actually prefer the taste of instant mash potatoes over the natural kind. I dont know why, maybe Im just weird.

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Say it ain't so!

Militant_Vegan_ said:

wait a minute.

it was said the KFC is nowhere near as good as it used to be.

and kids still eat there.

so therefore they are eating worse food.

use some logic

do you eat at KFC for example?

Click to expand...

Actually read a post before responding for a change.

SMTA said:

Actually read a post before responding for a change.

Click to expand...

do you eat at KFC?