What gives Popeyes fried chicken that kick?

[M.X.Hassett]

This is

The chicken is sprinkled with a heavy dose of Cajun seasoning (which has  cyanne) i.e. essence. It's mixed thoroughly and is held briefly.

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What else does the Cajun seasoning contain?

[Dana]

Usually: black pepper, white pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika along with salt.

There are about a million of them on the market. The best ones contain less salt.

We like Fiesta Brand or Best Seasoning, obtained at Best Stop outside Lafayette. We have been known to drive the 2 hours it takes to get there just for their seasoning mix. Along with stuffed pork chops, andouille, stuffed chicken, etc. Worth every mile.

[goldie]

OK- so it is far better fresh and hot (which means finding a place that has enough turn over to get it fresh and hot). The last time I had it I turned to my husband and said that I think it has Frank's Red Hot sauce in it. He, who has a better palate than he lets on, said that that was it. The heat on their chicken is pleasant, however I think it is the slight tang that makes them better than most.

That said, Bojangles is my personal favorite(probably for the dirty rice, though).

[scott123]

Does this look familiar?

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It does look amazing, but isn't there more visible specs of spices (such as black pepper) in the coating?

Cajun seasoning in only on the raw chicken, right? Not in the pancake batter or the dipping flour?

[ChefCrash]

M.X. Hassett

This is from Food Network:

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

I tried it once and found it was no different from the Cajun seasoning I get from the 'Bulk Food Store'

goldie

OK- so it is far better fresh and hot (which means finding a place that has enough turn over to get it fresh and hot). The last time I had it I turned to my husband and said that I think it has Frank's Red Hot sauce in it. He, who has a better palate than he lets on, said that that was it. The heat on their chicken is pleasant, however I think it is the slight tang that makes them better than most.

Nope. No Franks sauce. Pop Eyes chicken is even better the next day out of the fridge with catsup.

Scott123

The seasoning goes on the raw chicken. The batter and flour are not seasoned.

Ghost

It's deep fried.

[M.X.Hassett]

Thanks ChefCrash, I thought maybe there was some "secret" popeye spice. Great looking chicken.

[maui420]

thanks all for the replies.

another question, at what temp do you fry large batches of chicken? i know it cant be 375, maybe around 325 for 20-25 mins?

chicken wings at 375 take around 12-14 mins for a nice crunchy cooked wing. for larger pieces, the outside will burn before the insides get cooked.

[maui420]

hi thanks so much for the recipe. i tried it last week and it was pretty good. i think next time ill add a little more salt and a tad bit more cayeene or hot suace to the mix. i also think i went a little on the chicken with cajun. therefore yesterday i bought myself one of those large containers of cajun spice from sams. here are my pics. i will try again in a few days until my body gets over the fried food feeling!

my favorite knife to chop things up

Didn't think to take photos until the last batch was in the flour. You can see how well seasoned the chicken is.

Does this look familiar?

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[ingridsf]

As Tom Waits once sang, "I wish I was in New Orleans..."

Color me a three-piece-spicy-dark-and-a-biscuit.

Has anybody been to one recently that made onion rings? The one I went to in DC's Tenley Circle a hundred years ago did. Haven't seen them since. I'm still wearing my black armband of mourning.

Yeah, it's fast food but it's GOOD.

[MarketStEl]

As Tom Waits once sang,  "I wish I was in New Orleans..."

Color me a three-piece-spicy-dark-and-a-biscuit.

Has anybody been to one recently that made onion rings?  The one I went to in DC's Tenley Circle a hundred years ago did.  Haven't seen them since.  I'm still wearing my black armband of mourning.

Yeah, it's fast food but it's GOOD.

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I'll have to double-check, but I believe I saw them on the menu of sides at the Broad and Catherine store here in Philly last time I went there, about two weeks ago.

ChefCrash: Thanks for telling me where the spices go. That actually makes sense, now that you mention it. I'll try that next time I try this at home.

Agreed that the recipe calling for crushed cornflakes had little if anything to do with the actual Popeye's recipe. I've had pretty good results getting a crunchy crust with double-dipping in egg, then flour.

Diva: Yeah, I love the crunchiness of Church's chicken too. But Popeye's seasoning is so much better, and its crunch is in the neighborhood. Gotta go with the kick.

[IrishCream]

With no offense intended...McCormick Cajun Seasoning is just plain wrong. To come close to Popeye's it has to be either Tony Cachere's or Zatarains Creole Seasoning, preferably Tony's. I have them both in my spice cabinet but of course they don't really list out the ingredients. Lots of cayenne for sure. It's not Cajun seasoning, it's Creole.

I know this because my husband is southern Louisiana born and bred and even lived in NOLA for over 20 years. He slams on the breaks everytime he spies a Popeye's even if he isn't hungry! And he won't touch any other fast food fried chicken. Anything else is an affront.

[ChefCrash]

hi thanks so much for the recipe. i tried it last week and it was pretty good. i think next time ill add a little more salt and a tad bit more cayeene or hot suace to the mix. i also think i went a little on the chicken with cajun. therefore yesterday i bought myself one of those large containers of cajun spice from sams. here are my pics. i will try again in a few days until my body gets over the fried food feeling!

The chicken looks great Maui. Since my last post I've learned a few more things about the process.

1- According to my source, although the seasoning used at Popeye's is labeled as Cajun seasoning, she thinks it is plain cayenne and extremely hot, so much so that some employees need to wear masks when applying it.

2- The seasoned chicken is held overnight before battering and frying.

3- The chicken is dipped in the pancake batter very swiftly, so as to not loose too much of the seasoning.

As I said in my original post, I've only tried this recipe on wings. The reason is that frying at 350* in about 3" of oil, The batter starts to get too dark after about 8 minutes. Frying larger pieces such as thighs and legs would not cook thoroughly before getting to dark. My source doesn't have an explanation for this. They cook all pieces at 360* for 17 to 18 minutes. So maybe it's in the flour or the batter.

Go finger?!

Edited April 2, 2006 by ChefCrash (log)

[ChefCrash]

With no offense intended...McCormick Cajun Seasoning is just plain wrong.  To come close to Popeye's it has to be either Tony Cachere's or Zatarains Creole Seasoning, preferably Tony's.  I have them both in my spice cabinet but of course they don't really list out the ingredients.  Lots of cayenne for sure. It's not Cajun seasoning, it's Creole.

I know this because my husband is southern Louisiana born and bred and even lived in NOLA for over 20 years.  He slams on the breaks everytime he spies a Popeye's even if he isn't hungry! And he won't touch any other fast food fried chicken. Anything else is an affront. 

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Your husband knows his stuff.

[maui420]

of course it is and is pretty darn expensive. i grabbed the first cajun seasoning they were selling at acme. it was either the fancy gourmet mccormick stuff or the generic plain jane looking stuff. i will definitly check out the tony's and zatarains. thanks!

With no offense intended...McCormick Cajun Seasoning is just plain wrong.  To come close to Popeye's it has to be either Tony Cachere's or Zatarains Creole Seasoning, preferably Tony's.  I have them both in my spice cabinet but of course they don't really list out the ingredients.  Lots of cayenne for sure. It's not Cajun seasoning, it's Creole.

I know this because my husband is southern Louisiana born and bred and even lived in NOLA for over 20 years.  He slams on the breaks everytime he spies a Popeye's even if he isn't hungry! And he won't touch any other fast food fried chicken. Anything else is an affront. 

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[maui420]

yea, i am having trouble with the larger peieces of chicken. a thick chicken breast or drumstick cooked at 360 for 17mins will surely burn, especially when dipped in milk. the skin looks perfect at the 7-8min mark. pass that, it starts to get dark/burn. in the fried chicken thread in the cooking section, there are some people who boiled their chicken briefly. i wonder if somehow in the popeyes process they do something similiar. or if they fry the thick peices at 325, but at that temp, the skin wont be crispy right? i want to get to the bottom of this!

that day when i fried the chicken, i did a few without dipping in the batter. after letting the chicken sit in the cajun seasoning for a few hrs, i dipped it in a spiced mixture(flour, garlic powder, cayenne, oninon powder, paprika, baking powder) and let it sit some more in the fridge until the spiced flour looked 'wet'. this method seemed to give the chicken a more crunch with much less mess.

hi thanks so much for the recipe. i tried it last week and it was pretty good. i think next time ill add a little more salt and a tad bit more cayeene or hot suace to the mix. i also think i went a little on the chicken with cajun. therefore yesterday i bought myself one of those large containers of cajun spice from sams. here are my pics. i will try again in a few days until my body gets over the fried food feeling!

The chicken looks great Maui. Since my last post I've learned a few more things about the process.

1- According to my source, although the seasoning used at Popeye's is labeled as Cajun seasoning, she thinks it is plain cayenne and extremely hot, so much so that some employees need to wear masks when applying it.

2- The seasoned chicken is held overnight before battering and frying.

3- The chicken is dipped in the pancake batter very swiftly, so as to not loose too much of the seasoning.

As I said in my original post, I've only tried this recipe on wings. The reason is that frying at 350* in about 3" of oil, The batter starts to get too dark after about 8 minutes. Frying larger pieces such as thighs and legs would not cook thoroughly before getting to dark. My source doesn't have an explanation for this. They cook all pieces at 360* for 17 to 18 minutes. So maybe it's in the flour or the batter.

Go finger?!

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[ChefCrash]

Hi Maui

a thick chicken breast or drumstick cooked at 360 for 17mins will surely burn, especially when dipped in milk.

If so, maybe substituting water for the milk in the pankace batter is the trick?

If you try it before me, let us know. Thanks.

[MarketStEl]

of course it is and is pretty darn expensive. i grabbed the first cajun seasoning they were selling at acme.

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Don't think I've seen you on the Pennsylvania board yet...

Or do you reserve your posts for New Jersey, or DC/DelMarVa?

[IrishCream]

Yeah...where are you maui? I'm going to be in New Orleans in a few weeks and would be glad to pick up some Tony Cachere's for you if you can't get it where you live.

Your chicken looks great! I'll show those wonderful pics to my husband tomorrow and see what he has to say and share his recipe if he agrees. I know that one of the secrets of really good southern fried chicken is ......... . But it has nothing to do with batter or corn flakes!