QFT. My wife and I used to love their cole slaw and would be sure to get a large side order of it. It had plenty of goop and had just the right combination of creaminess and tang. Now, it’s barely more than shredded cabbage.
My only experience is with Canadian Popeye’s. They haven’t been here that long. I think they are pretty good.
I used to live in a smaller town. It had a KFC which was okay. But the KFC in another small town ten miles away was consistently awesome, so much so it was worth driving there. Canadisn KFC offered crispy here for a few years, but it had too little spice and so wasn’t as good.
The last few times I have had KFC I wished I had got Popeye’s instead. Just didn’t meet my expectations for various reasons. I think their chicken thirty years ago was dramatically better than it is now.
The KFC in my town is unreliable. Last time I ate there it did naughty things to my gut. So I don’t go there anymore.
The item I miss is the original chicken littles. When I was in high school they were a buck each. Add a biscuit and soda it was a perfect lunch.
Have a similar situation here but the good one isn’t awesome enough to make it worth driving there. This is New England, round these here parts someplace 10 miles away can’t be reached without driving 20 miles.
Our KFC used to have some sort of baked/roasted chicken, but they quit carrying that and also stopped offering the one piece chicken breast meal with two sides. So we quit going a few years back. But that doesn’t really answer the OP’s question so I’ll go with original recipe.
We have half a dozen chicken joints in the area. I love Popeyes. … One day, I thought, I haven’t had KFC extra crispy in decades. (original recipe I had a couple times a year). Why not treat myself?..Well, the coating tasted ok, but it was barely holding on to a thick icky layer of slimy fatty skin. It slid right off the skin when I took a bite. I took another bite and that stayed on some, but I had to pull the thick icky bumpy layer of fatty skin out of my mouth. Two-three bites, into the trash can.
I like extra-crispy well enough, but I’m convinced they select smaller pieces of chicken to be made normal-sized by the bulkier batter.
There is no longer an Original Recipe. Either the blend of spices, the formula, or the cooking process has changed, to make it cheaper. I remember the original KFC and you can’t get it anywhere, so I didn’t vote.
A bucket of chicken, rolls, real mashed potatoes, and the good gravy, just is not to be found anywhere.
I would not buy the new KFC to give to a homeless person.
I also haven’t eaten at a KFC in ages…in the last couple of decades maybe three times total. Maybe.
I always preferred Original Recipe because, as noted above, the EC seemed to have the wrong proportions of batter to meat. And once it was so crispy I could barely bite through the skin. Never ordered EC after that.
But I don’t eat much fried chicken at all any more. Anyone remember Pioneer Chicken??? Man, that was the greasiest chicken I’ve ever eaten. Sadly a youth group I worked with loved it, and it was the frequent choice when we got a snack for outings/events.
The local KFC is also. Long John Silver’s, so I’ll order fish over chicken. El Pollo Loco is closer and oh so much better than KFC.
LJS chicken planks are pretty good.
I saw Canadian youtuber “Glen and Friends Cooking” (or whatever it’s called) series on the recreation of KFC and he did mention that point. There was something else about an Irish chain also having the “original” recipe? I think someone from Ireland sent him a huge bag of the fry-mix. Those were good videos, he put a lot of time and effort into that series. In the end, I think he came close.
I did not know that! Any KFC that I ate in the last 3 decades was in Indonesia, so maybe that skews my perceptions.
The small town where our lake house is had a KFC. The few times I ate there, it was just so salty and greasy that I’d swear “never again”, at least until the next time. Last week when I was up there, their sign said they were closed (as in, for good). It’s probably related to the upcoming opening of a KwikTrip convenience store about to open across the street. Their take-out chicken had become quite popular, more crispy and less greasy. And back to the OP, closer to what you’d want KFC extra crispy to be.
Really? I never had extra crispy as a kid, but I’m pretty sure I’ve had it a few times in my life and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a KFC outside of Saskatchewan.
It’s possible that I’m getting it confused with Popeye’s, though.
It appears they have had it in more recent years, but not during Sanders life.
When I eat fried chicken I peel off and discard the skin/breading. As far as I know, that would make both poll options identical. I did not vote.
I prefer extra crispy. Most of the chicken places offer it.
I had KFC 
last year. It was pretty good.
My favorites are Churchs and Popeyes.
Pretty sure Canada had it for a few years. Popeye has spicy or regular, not sure they have ever had crispy in Canada.
Haven’t read the thread, so don’t know if this point was made:
Original is better in a box.
Extra Krispy is better in a bucket.