# KFC: Original Recipe or Extra Crispy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 5, 2024, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463 "2024-10-05T02:15:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/61 "2024-10-09T11:59:17Z")
When I lived in the US I always chose extra crispy. Unfortunately, original is the only option in the UK. A few Popeye’s have appeared here recently, but none close enough to order takeaway. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/62 "2024-10-10T02:29:54Z")
I was in my teens by the time I had my first taste of KFC - still called ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ then. We lived very close to a Pioneer Chicken (remember them?) and that was the only kind I ever had. When I finally had KFC it was before EC was available and I found it greasy and limp. Fast forward many years when I was living in another state with no other chicken places (that I was aware of) but KFC. I tried the extra crispy and it was really good. Made me wonder how KFC got so popular with their original recipe. Unfortunately, I don’t like any of KFC’s sides. Fortunately, there’s Popeye’s. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/63 "2024-10-10T02:44:14Z")
Seth Meyers had A ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/64 "2024-10-10T02:50:32Z")
Seth Meyers had Amelia Dimoldenbergon his show last night. I have never heard of her either. She’s the creator and host of a British show on YouTube named _Chicken Shop Date_. She invites people on her show because it’s the worst place to take a first date. It sounds hilarious, in a British humo(u)r way. Anyway, she showed a clip of the date in the chicken shop, which is just a takeout joint with a few tables. Pretty dreary, but the chicken looked decent. Anyone been to one? ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/65 "2024-10-10T11:57:40Z")
I’ve been to a few. The quality varies quite a bit. Always check the food hygiene rating sticker in the window before going in. They usually open quite late to cater to people stumbling out of pubs at closing time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/66 "2024-10-10T12:22:34Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > Always check the food hygiene rating sticker in the window before going in. Check the what now? ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/67 "2024-10-10T12:57:54Z")
Extra Crispy, but I haven’t been to a KFC in long time…maybe fifteen years. Popeye’s seems to do by default “extra” crispy. I enjoy their wings…not traditional Buffalo wings, but they do have flats and drumsticks in pretty equal proportions. And, no, their “ghost pepper” infusion is not…well…I wouldn’t be scared by the name if I were you! Tiny bit spicy. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/68 "2024-10-10T20:35:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Check the what now? In California (Los Angeles?) there are cards placed in the window with Health Dept ratings. You do **not** want to go to one with less than an ‘A.’ ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/69 "2024-10-10T20:47:46Z")
I once went into a Popeyes and ordered, and while I was waiting I noticed a health inspector’s report stuck up on the wall. It was two full pages long and extremely negative, with numerous violations, some of them pretty ludicrous. Like one mentioned that an employee told the inspector that some food item didn’t need to be refrigerated because they were going to use it that day. It sounded like the health inspector’s report in Fawlty Towers. I know it reflects only on that particular site, but I still think of it every time I consider going into a Popeyes. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/70 "2024-10-10T20:54:29Z")
I’ll get KFC every once in awhile. A draw for me is their cole slaw, which while needing added pepper and salt, is much superior to typical restaurant cole slaw which winds up being soupy-textured mush. “Creamy” should not be “drowning in liquid”. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/71 "2024-10-11T11:38:05Z")
They look like [this.](https://www.scilly.gov.uk/sites/default/files/images/FHRS.Jpeg.SC_.jpg) They are similar to the Health Dept ratings that @carrps mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/72 "2024-10-11T12:32:01Z")
Good idea. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/73 "2024-10-11T14:19:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Good idea. It has the potential for the same problems as conventional inspections, mainly corrupt officials. I’d also worry about the line between a 5 and a 4 rating. Anything less than a 5 would be harmful to a business. An inspector on a bad day shouldn’t be able to arrive at a 4 rating based on a single bit of food on the floor of a busy kitchen. Hopefully before posting a sticker with a new rating restaurants will be given an opportunity to appeal and remedy a problem. This is usually done now with conventional inspections when minor matters turn up. But in general a well defined standard and proper inspections are a good thing for the public and businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/74 "2024-10-11T14:33:34Z")
Publicly posted grades exist in several states. Sure, there are borderline cases, but generally, there have to be more than a single issue like some dropped food to get you close to that line. If an inspector having a bad day is enough to drop a KFC’s rating, it was most likely marginal to begin with. I’d be more worried in the other direction - a KFC able to boost its rating due to a corrupt official. That would be a public health issue, especially in a place that handles raw chicken. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/75 "2024-10-11T15:31:12Z")
I personally would pay no attention to such grades. If the health department hasn’t shut it down, I assume it’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/76 "2024-10-11T15:42:59Z")
Last year I stopped for gas at a new gas station. Shiny new gas pump had a sticker from weights&measures like all pumps have, but instead of green it was red and said the pump failed for accuracy. By the time I realized this I’d already swiped my card, so I kept pumping. For the price per gallon, my experience told me it would almost fill my tank for $50. The pump shut off at $47. Yes, it was inaccurate, but in my favor! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/77 "2024-10-11T18:23:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I personally would pay no attention to such grades. If the health department hasn’t shut it down, I assume it’s good enough for me. I pay attention to them. I had an uncle who was a health inspector who’d tell you stories that’d curl your hair. He never ate in restaurants. Personally, I thought that last went a step too far. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2024, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/78 "2024-10-12T09:38:07Z")
The kitchens I did my baking work in were good, or I wouldn’t work there. What bothered me about inspections were youthful inspectors who’d never been in food service, trying to lecture experienced restaurant workers and managers on how to keep a proper kitchen. I remember one young woman, looked to be just out of college, using a consdescending tone to my boss about proper temps in the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/79 "2024-11-13T16:01:41Z")
Church’s chicken is getting into the act. [https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/12/business/kfc-sues-churchs-over-stealing-original-recipe/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/12/business/kfc-sues-churchs-over-stealing-original-recipe/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463/80 "2024-11-13T19:34:54Z")
I think Church’s using the term is a mistake; people are more likely to think that Church’s is changing its recipe again to be more like KFC’s. Maybe “old-school recipe” would be better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kfc-original-recipe-or-extra-crispy/1008463.md?page=3)