For decades, KFC’s blend of 11 herbs and spices has been the holy grail for fried chicken fanatics. The fast-food giant has fiercely guarded the recipe, even turning it into a global marketing phenomenon. But do you know that in 2016, Joe Ledington, a nephew of Colonel Harland David Sanders himself, had come forward with a handwritten list of ingredients that could be the actual recipe for KFC’s world-famous fried chicken? Read on to discover what these ingredients are and learn if they make up the “secret” flavor we all know and love.
Last Will and Testament Reveal a Mystery Recipe
In a 2016 interview with freelance writer Jay Jones for The Chicago Tribune, Joe Ledington, who was 67 at that time, shared a photo album packed with pictures, newspaper clippings, and various family documents.
“This was Aunt Claudia’s album,” Joe told Jay, referring to his father’s sister, Claudia Ledington, who became Harland Sanders’ second wife when they got married in the late 1940s. Claudia worked as a waitress in the original KFC restaurant located in Corbin, Kentucky, and was a key player in kickstarting what would become the multibillion-dollar fast-food chain KFC, now with over 30,000 locations around the globe.
At the back of the album was the last will and testament of Claudia, who passed away on New Year’s Eve of 1996 at age 94. “I can show you what every family member got,” Joe told Jay. “This was my dad, Robert Ledington. He was the first one. He got $209,888.”
But what’s more interesting than that was the handwritten note found on the back of the document. Written in blue ink at the top of the page, it read, “11 Spices — Mix With 2 Cups White Fl.” That was followed by an enumerated list of 11 herbs and spices, with measurements for each:
- 2/3 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of thyme
- 1/2 tsp of basil
- 1/3 tsp of oregano
- 1 tsp of celery salt
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 tsp of dried mustard
- 4 tsp of paprika
- 2 tsp of garlic salt
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- 3 tsp of white pepper
When asked if that’s the secret recipe for KFC’s finger-lickin’ good fried chicken, Joe replied with conviction: “That is the original 11 herbs and spices that were supposed to be so secretive.”
Although Joe made it clear that the writing wasn’t his uncle’s, he was sure that the recipe was authentic because he helped blend those herbs and spices on the flat concrete roof of his uncle’s garage several years back.
“I mixed them over the top of the garage for years,” he recalled. “The big thing we did was mix it with flour and bag it up and sell it to restaurants. Actually, my job was cutting up chickens and bagging up chicken mix. That’s what I did as a 10-, 11-, 12-year-old kid.”
Among the 11 ingredients listed on the note, Joe said the white pepper is the standout star. “The main ingredient is white pepper,” he shared. “I call that the secret ingredient. Nobody (in the 1950s) knew what white pepper was. Nobody knew how to use it.”
Is it the real deal?
Although The Chicago Tribune managed to come up with a finger-lickin’ good fried chicken using that recipe, Joe dialed back his certainty on the legitimacy of the recipe in a subsequent phone interview with an editor of the newspaper.
“It could be; I don’t know for sure,” he said about the handwritten list of ingredients. “I’ve only had that album for four years since my sister passed away.”
In an attempt to check the authenticity of the recipe, Joe reached out to Yum! Brands, KFC’s parent company, to ask if it’s indeed the Colonel’s original recipe for his iconic fried chicken. Below is the restaurant’s response:
“In the 1940’s, Colonel Sanders developed the original recipe chicken to be sold at his gas station diner. At the time, the recipe was written above the door so anyone could have read it. But today, we go to great lengths to protect such a sacred blend of herbs and spices. In fact, the recipe ranks among America’s most valuable trade secrets.”
Joe followed up, noting that a “yes,” “no” or “no comment” would be helpful, and this was the response he got: “Lots of people through the years have claimed to discover or figure out the secret recipe, but no one’s ever been right.”
KFC Copycats: Endless Attempts, Zero Success
Colonel Sanders’ nephew isn’t the first to suggest he might possess the secret to KFC’s success. Many cooks online have shared copycat recipes they claim mimic the original, though only a few include the white pepper that Joe insists is crucial.
One of the most notable discoveries happened over 20 years ago in Shelbyville, Kentucky, where a couple, Tommy and Cherry Settle, reportedly found a recipe in the basement of a home they purchased from Harland and Claudia Sanders in the 1970s. The recipe was tucked inside a 1964 datebook.
Yum! Brands responded by suing the Settles, but the case was dropped after officials determined the recipe was far from the original.