I am surprised
when I learn that dishes I hold dear and assume others do as well, turn out not
to be liked at all by those others. For
example - take fries and gravy, the old standard in many restaurants in
Canada. In the US they do not serve
gravy on fries except in some restaurants along the border. If you ask for gravy with your fries in most
places you are met by the server staring at you like you have two heads and one
of them is making a face at him or her.
As Susan and I were travelling through the Southwest States on vacation years ago, we stopped at a KFC for lunch.
Once we got to the front of the line we placed our order with the teller, which included French
fries and not mashed potatoes as is the norm apparently, then asked for gravy.
The teller did a classic double take,
pausing, then entering the additional item into the electronic register, she
stopped, and again, thinking about our order no doubt, looked at both of us
like we were two-headed aliens. She then took our money, surrendered the change
and headed into the kitchen area.
Once she got close
to the kitchen she spoke in a loud voice filled with incredulity to
the person in the kitchen, “You won’t be believin’ what just
happened!”
“Some guy ordered
French fries and then axed me for GRAVY!!!”
“Gravy!!!”
“Can you be believin’ that?” Tisking and
clucking as she spoke the words with apparent shock.
In a loud voice
dripping with her heavy accent she then opined, “I ain’t never been axed for
gravy for fries ever before!”
“Unbelievable!” the
disembodied voice from the kitchen gasped.
She then offered
up her reason for someone ordering such a combination of foods in a voice loud
enough to be heard next door, “Must be from Minnesota!”
She
returned with
the small Styrofoam container of gravy placing it in front of my like it
was a
radioactive ball of uranium then turned and walked away (waddled really)
shaking her head side to side in disbelief. We left laughing at the
commentary we endured and I am sure if we had asked for some cheese to
go with the fries and gravy it
would have tipped her over like a cow in a cow-tipping contest.
Not Quite KFC Gray (BUT CLOSE!)
1 cup chicken stock (Campbell's or Better Than Bouillon)
1 cup beef stock (Campbell's or Better Than Bouillon)
1/3 cup Dan Fells KFC seasoned coating mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil (used deep fry oil is best)
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp Accent (I know, I know! But it's in the KFC real thing)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Place all dry ingredients in a 2 -3 qt sauce pan
Add vegetable oil to dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk
Place pot over medium heat and continue to whisk to prevent it from sticking, cook for 3 minutes
Once the roux has cooked turn off heat and let cool for 10 minutes
Add the chicken and beef stock to the cooled roux and whisk vigorously to ensure it is very well incorporated and no lumps remain, return to medium heat
Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it comes to a light boil, then turn down heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes
Make some homemade french fries!
Make some Dan Fell's KFC style chicken
Plate the chicken and fries then smother the fries with copious amounts of gravy and enjoy!!
Notes at bottom of page:
You have to use the Dan Fell KFC coating mix (see recipe elsewhere on this blog), plain flour won't do the trick
If the gravy is too thick, add some more stock
If the gravy is too thin, let it cook over very low heat, it will thicken as it ages on the stove
To get the colour correct use additional beef concentrate to get it to the proper colour
I have had best results with a Campbell's No Salt Chicken stock and Better Than Bouillon Beef concentrate combination. Some recipes call for the cubed bouillon (OXO I suppose) and in a pinch they will work too, just not as good
Cayenne is optional but I like its gentle hit along with the heat of the white pepper
I try to use the cooking oil and fond (stuff at bottom of pot) from a previous chicken fry to make the roux. Simply drain the oil ans save a cup of it and the cooked goodness at the bottom and freeze until needed.
Use Accent! Really...
Now, originally KFC gravy was made with the cooked coating and chicken goodness (fond) from the chicken fryers as a base for the gravy, over time, it seems they have gone to an insipid, tasteless, and joyless gravy mix for ease and profit I suppose. If you use used oil and fond you can almost get back to the KFC gravy of old!!
Please let me know when you have tried the KFC recipes on the blog by posting a comment on the page.