This is kind of interesting. I was going deep in the internet and came across a forum that was discussing Youngbloods > Leslies > Churchs Fried Chicken recipes. Both the Leslies and Churchs chains came out of Youngbloods. Here, supposedly is the secret recipe in industrial portions. You are not going to believe the original proportions. They used 7 lbs. salt, 2 lbs. whey, 1 lb dry milk. I asked him how they could use so much salt and have it taste good. He said it was mixed in a lot of water in proportion to the salt but that it still tasted very salty. Later they reduced the salt but he didnt know exactly how much. He said to add salt to taste which he said would be somewhere around 2 cups whey, 1 cup dry milk, and 1/4 cup of salt. It still tasted too salty to me and their measurements were by weight not by volume. So the only consistent thing we have is the 2 lbs whey and 1 lb dry milk, then salt to taste. This is all for the liquid part. I asked him if they seasoned the flour at all and he said they did not while he was with Youngbloods. When he moved to Denver and started the Drumstick chicken restaurants they did season the flour some but I dont know with what yet. He said when he makes fried chicken at home he puts white pepper and salt in the flour, then mixes 1 egg and 1 Tbsp. water for the wet mix. He dips the chicken in the flour, shakes off excess, dips it into the egg/water mix, and back into the flour, shakes off excess, then into 350 oil. The other thing I want to try is to find cottonseed oil. They used it at Youngbloods and Leslies because it was the cheapest and he said it lasted longer than the other oils. He said it didnt make any difference in taste but I can tell a difference between peanut oil, vegetable oil, and Crisco. So I wonder if the cottonseed added anything to the flavor. Another thought I had was that he was at Youngbloods in the 50s. I would imagine the recipe changed with time so they may have been seasoning things more in the 60s. I know Leslies started using buttermilk in their wet mix. Lots of fried chicken to experiment with!! It may take us all but at least we have some direction. I really like the taste of the sweet whey in the mix. It added a flavor that is very nice.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 13:03:08 +0000
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