There are KFC franchises all over Ireland, but you won’t find anyone posting photographs of the meal, unless making a report to public health.
Fried chicken at independent restaurants is generally excellent. Last year I heard a story on the Blindboy podcast that might explain why.
When “Colonel Sanders” sold his franchise business in the US, he held on to the business in Canada, and the worldwide franchise rights. An Irish businessman named Pat Grace met up with The Colonel and held the franchise for Kentucky Fried Chicken in Ireland. After the Colonel died, lawyers got involved, and Grace was forbidden to use the name “Kentucky Fried Chicken” or claim any relationship to the original recipe.
So for many years, Grace continued selling excellent fried chicken spiced to perfection. When the family closed the restaurants, they continued selling the spices, marketed as Graces Perfect Blend. Many chicken shops in Ireland use it, such as the legendary, “The Forks in the Bag You Gowl,” Chicken Hut in Limerick.
And yes, you can order kilos of the mix and make your own, as evidenced by the photo above. That chicken leg brought back a lost corner of childhood.
If you don’t want to order it from Graces, you can make your own. Here’s a Canadian chef reverse engineering the recipe, telling the Pat Grace story.
To be clear, the company says that it is NOT the original recipe, and they would know.
Linda, the batch I made was a little different from the video. I marinated the chicken all day in buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and chili powder. I just took it out of the buttermilk and dredged it in the mix. Of course I just used a cast iron skillet as I don't have the chef's fancy yoke. I thought it was pretty darned good.
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