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What gives Popeyes fried chicken that kick?


maui420

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i know its not cayenne, garlic, onion, or paprika powder. any ideas what the spice could be?

maybe a hint of cumin, and something else... i would really like to perfect my fried chicken and thats the 1 thing my chicken is missing....that kick.

also, do you think you can taste the difference between fried chicken cooked in a pressure fryer vs one cooked in a deepfryer vs cooked in a skillit?

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According to the secret recipe website...

3 cups Self-rising flour

1 cup Cornstarch

3 tablespoons Seasoned salt

2 tablespoons Paprika

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 package Italian Salad Dressing Mix -- Powder

1 package Onion Soup Mix -- (1 1/2 ounces)

1 package spaghetti sauce mix -- (1/2 ounce)

3 tablespoons Sugar

3 cups Corn flakes -- crush slightly

2 Eggs -- well beaten

1/4 cup Cold water

4 pounds Chicken -- cut up

Sounds perfectly disgusting to me...

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I've heard that it's just cayenne, salt & pepper, and to make it "spicy" style they dredge it twice. Whatever. It still beats KFC any day. And don't get me started on the KFC/Taco Bell hellishness. Blech.

Edited by Basilgirl (log)

I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

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from my experience, ive found that letting the floured chicken chill out in the fridge for an hour or so yields pretty good crunchy exterior.

i tried the whole double dipping thing in milk, eggs, water, etc... and found it messy and didnt really improve upon the above mentioned.

actually i got the idea from watching a food network special on fried chicken. lol

According to the secret recipe website...
3 cups Self-rising flour

1 cup Cornstarch

3 tablespoons Seasoned salt

2 tablespoons Paprika

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 package Italian Salad Dressing Mix -- Powder

1 package Onion Soup Mix -- (1 1/2 ounces)

1 package spaghetti sauce mix -- (1/2 ounce)

3 tablespoons Sugar

3 cups Corn flakes -- crush slightly

2 Eggs -- well beaten

1/4 cup Cold water

4 pounds Chicken -- cut up

Sounds perfectly disgusting to me...

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According to the secret recipe website...
3 cups Self-rising flour

1 cup Cornstarch

3 tablespoons Seasoned salt

2 tablespoons Paprika

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 package Italian Salad Dressing Mix -- Powder

1 package Onion Soup Mix -- (1 1/2 ounces)

1 package spaghetti sauce mix -- (1/2 ounce)

3 tablespoons Sugar

3 cups Corn flakes -- crush slightly

2 Eggs -- well beaten

1/4 cup Cold water

4 pounds Chicken -- cut up

Sounds perfectly disgusting to me...

Funny, I didn't know that Popeye's got it's secret seasoning recipe from FTV's Sandra Lee. :blink:

Inside me there is a thin woman screaming to get out, but I can usually keep the Bitch quiet: with CHOCOLATE!!!

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It's definitely cornflakes for the crunch, but I would have guessed cayenne for the spice too. Whatever it is, it's not disgusting, it's yummy! :smile:

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

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And I'm fairly certain that the recipe posted is a bunch of BS.

I second that bavila. I've eaten Popeye's fried chicken many times and there's just no way that I wouldn't have been able to taste all that gack going on, especially since all of that "seasoning" is for only FOUR POUNDS OF CHICKEN! Blech!!! Not to mention that in addition to the amount of sodium present in the Italian salad dressing mix, the onion soup mix AND the spaghetti sauce mix, we're supposed to believe that one would add three tablespoons of seasoning salt on top of that? Double blech!!!

BTW, while Popeye's is okay, the king/queen of fast food fried chicken for me is still Church's. :smile:

Edited for grammar.

Edited by divalasvegas (log)

Inside me there is a thin woman screaming to get out, but I can usually keep the Bitch quiet: with CHOCOLATE!!!

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It's definitely cornflakes for the crunch, but I would have guessed cayenne for the spice too.  Whatever it is, it's not disgusting, it's yummy!  :smile:

The resulting chicken might be "yummy," but if you read that recipe and didn't know what it was supposed to make, I'm willing to bet most consider it (the recipe!) disgusting.

I wouldn't know either way -- there is a Popeyes at the base of my apartment complex, but as it is a neighborhood known for flying bullets (seriously!) and gang warfare, I'm not about to go and try it.

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popeyes and roy rogers have a similiar kick.

fast food chains is like playing russion roulet. 90 percent of the time, the food is toooo salty, oily, cold etc... but sometimes, the food comes out awesome.

funny thing, a few months ago, i needed something quick to eat so I decided to stop by MCD's. I ordered the typical big mac and fries, expecting to get the typical cold burger, instead i got a steaming hot burger and hot golden crisp french fries. =)

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I'd be willing to bet that like so many fast food joints, the secret ingredient is equal parts salt, sugar, and MSG.

Sugar, I'm not so sure about, but MSG is used in Popeye's, that I know for certain.

MSG is used in all fast food chicken. Here is a link to KFC that shows what they put MSG in- everything.

http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_kfc.asp

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This is how you make Pop Eye's chicken. (Have a client that works for them).

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.

When it's time to cook,

The chicken is dipped in unsweetend pancake batter batter:

1 egg

3T butter

1tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 C flour

Milk, enough to get a light batter.

Then rolled in flour and placed in the fryer. They don't use pressure broasters.

I have tried this recipe many times with chicken wings.

Edited by ChefCrash (log)
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According to the secret recipe website...
3 cups Self-rising flour

1 cup Cornstarch

3 tablespoons Seasoned salt

2 tablespoons Paprika

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 package Italian Salad Dressing Mix -- Powder

1 package Onion Soup Mix -- (1 1/2 ounces)

1 package spaghetti sauce mix -- (1/2 ounce)

3 tablespoons Sugar

3 cups Corn flakes -- crush slightly

2 Eggs -- well beaten

1/4 cup Cold water

4 pounds Chicken -- cut up

Sounds perfectly disgusting to me...

That, my dear, is because you have never enjoyed Popeye's Spicy (as opposed to mild) on the neutral ground on St Charles Avenue on a gorgeous, sunny, fun filled Mardi Gras day in New Orleans.

If you had ever experienced just one luscious, juicy, spicy, tongue numbing leg you would be singing the praises of Colonel Copeland's secret recipe of herbs, spices, and preservatives. Yes, yes you would.

Today, I, who was costuming as the Dixieland Epicurean (photos to follow as soon as my email box starts filling up-I don't photograph myself well), enjoyed several pieces on the corner of Thalia and St Charles as I was interviewing some men setting up a serious BBQ operation. The chicken? Delicious! The 100 or so men, women, and children doing The Electric Slide, 5 or six abreast in the middle of the street, were even better than the chicken. They left a taste in my mouth like no food I have ever eaten. Truly, it was a sight to behold.

We're different. We don't have houses, jobs, levees, money, mail, regular garbage pickup, straight politicians, or maybe even a chance-but we know how to have fun better than anyone in North America and likely the world-and right now, today, that was good enough for all of us. Plenty good enough.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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Brooks, I don't think anyone here is trashing Popeye's Chicken. At least that's not my impression. I, personally, love the stuff. What's being trashed here is that particular recipe- that bears no resemblance whatsoever to what you consumed today.

Edited by scott123 (log)
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Methinks our friend Brooks is still revelling in his Carnival induced inebriation.

Psst. Brooks. Read the recipe, dude.

And yes, I agree, Popeye's makes excellent fair for Mardi Gras festivities. Hopefully the ones I saw closed in NO in January will open again soon. :unsure:

Bridget Avila

My Blog

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