2017.02.21 Review of KFC 3 Pack (Germany)

[ThePieMan]

Today I went and got some laser printed copies of the vials and got me the hankering to go give the Corporation some of my money  

I parked in the car park, got out and walked to the door. No smell's or aromas from the diner.
I went in, a small, noticeable aroma, but nothing that screams, stomps, and yells, warmly wraps its arms around you and gushes, "Welcome old friend! Get a whiff of that! The best chicken in town!"

Well… its seemed more like that when I was, littler…

I ordered the 3 Piece Original with coleslaw and a Pepsi plus a tub of mash and gravy, and sweetcorn on a stick. Then took it all back to my car to do a number on it.

I sniffed into the bag of chook, but was underwhelmed by the aroma, or lack thereof. There was something, but…
I then tucked in, peeled the coating off, it was kinda crunchy and there definitely was a small hint of something bitey-spicy but I couldn't put my finger on it, beyond the small black flecks that I presume, like everybody else, that it's black pepper. The chicken itself, lacked flavour, even just chicken flavour, although it was apparently quite juicy, and masticating the meat was reminiscent of eating confit of duck in a mushy, pasty, kinda way, but without any of the taste. I finished off the chook all the way down to the greasy fingers after, and was left with a feeling similar to that after a first day and sleepover, where anticipation and pre-fantasy had absolutely nothing to do with reality. 

All that lingered was an uncomfortable, stick mess and the singular thought, "don't touch anything let's get this cleaned up, quick. Uggghhh… 

I turned my attention to the chips, potato mash and gravy. This used to be my favorite bit, dipping the chips into the potato and gravy… 

…but the chips had chilled by this time, and the gravy had no flavour, was a clear, thin, cornstarch-based gravy, with minimal chicken flavour, and no punch from th seasoned flour they used to make it with. So I packed it all up and went home… I had an idea…

[ThePieMan]

First I puled out the salt and pepper and tried that…



…a little better but not much. Then I took out some of my seasoning mix, the remnants of three blends: TCK34D (base for all three); +Nigella-Vanilla; +Pimento-Vanilla;

and spiked the potato and gravy with 3/32 of a teaspoon of dry roasted spice mix. 3/32 tsp was too much, 1/16 was better. Either way it added a noticeable punch to the potatoes and gravy.

You know what I should have done? Taken my spice mix to the restaurant and season the chook tableside while it was still hot, and everything else.


Cheers.

[Deleted]

Makes you wonder about the relevancy of comparing a private recipe side by side with present day KFC. Why would you want to match, or duplicate this? I the early 1960s, I could smell KFC cooking 3/4's of a mile away. Now I can barely smell it next door.

[swamprocker]

Feb 21, 2017 17:22:09 GMT @smallgree said:

Makes you wonder about the relevancy of comparing a private recipe side by side with present day KFC. Why would you want to match, or duplicate this? I the early 1960s, I could smell KFC cooking 3/4's of a mile away. Now I can barely smell it next door.

That's for sure. I can remember in the 70's getting out of the car in front of the store and smelling the chicken already, and as soon as you got in the door it was an overwhelming aroma.

[ThePieMan]

I agree. You can't compare current, store bought, KFC Chicken to what was produced in the past. They are two different products.

I did say, "…got me the hankering to go give the Corporation some of my money "

Granted, the 70's were getting watered down, but I too remember the smell hence, "…No smell's or aromas from the diner.
I went in, a small, noticeable aroma, but nothing that screams, stomps, and yells, warmly wraps its arms around you and gushes, "Welcome old friend! Get a whiff of that! The best chicken in town!""

Because we travel, a lot in S.E. Asia, often the best place for a quick western fix is KFC, of McD's. Usually, not always, but usually the toilets are clean, the restaurant is clean and the food predictable. Here in Germany, KFC is not so popular – I traveled 10km to the nearest outlet to me, for this abomination, yet, my son still likes it, I hope its just the adventure of it and not the actual food. He rates KFC 1, Burger King 2, and McD's 3. We don't go to any of them very often unless we are traveling.

Cheers.

[ThePieMan]

A 9 piece bucket, 4 tubs of gravy and mash, a corn cob and some crinkle-cut French fries. KFC Shanghai.

Stuck my nose in the bucket, nothing, nada, zip. The Note, when it is "Strong" is immediate and noticeable. Gonna have to get my fingers greasy, go outside and come back in. Think I'll nuke it on medium low with a cover as well to see if warming it up helps.

Ate the chips, and dipped them in the mash and gravy. The mash smells like powdered milk. The gravy has a definite hint of celery to it, and is peppery on the tongue.

So, after warming, I get oily (soybean, perhaps rape?) I get peppery - it doesn't seem to have the pungency of ground black pepper; bready - flour, oil, ginger, possibly mace; I don't get much in the way of herbal aromas, or medicinal hints. The aroma is bright rather than dull and musty/murky; and it changes as the chicken cools. When hotter, the oil was the dominating aroma, and I guess the chicken smell as well, but as it cools other aromas start to present themselves. 

My nose is now overloaded so I'll have to come back at it another time. Next clear the sinuses and start the taste test...

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