Old-style KFC BBQ chicken sauce?


 
Grant Cunningham

Grant Cunningham

TVWBB Pro
You know how sometimes you get a craving for something you haven't had in a long while, and even though it's not really 'quality' food you still want it? That's what I'm talking about today!

Back in the '70s and '80s, KFC (which was then known as Kentucky Fried Chicken) sold regular, crispy, and a heavily sauced BBQ chicken. The BBQ variety was discontinued chain-wide sometime in the '90s, perhaps as late as 2000. (Note: this was not the same as the "Honey BBQ" chicken they sell today, which is sweeter and less tangy.)

The BBQ was a thick, tangy, slightly spicy sauce that they dipped the whole pieces in after cooking. (Rumor had it that the BBQ chicken was made from Original Recipe that had sat under the heat lamps too long, and was a way to salvage chicken that would otherwise be scrapped. I don't know if that was true, I just know it was good!)

Does this ring a bell with anyone? Any ideas on how to duplicate that taste?
 
Fun Fact: Here in Oregon, Kentucky Fried Chicken was also known as "Speck Chicken". It came from The Speck restaurants, which was a small chain that bought an area franchise. They expanded into standalone Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, but since their name was well known they put it on the signs above "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and "finger lickin' good!". Eventually they sold off their franchises and their name disappeared completely in the '70s.

Some older native Oregonians — my wife included — still call it "Speck Chicken".

(I used to give her a lot of ribbing for that. But she always reminded me that until he died in 2001, my Dad still referred to the True Value Hardware store in our hometown as "Marshall-Wells". Marshall Wells was a hardware chain that was acquired by Coast To Coast Hardware way back in 1958; they in turn were acquired by True Value in the 1980s. But for my Dad, they were always Marshall-Wells!)
 
Grant Cunningham said:
Fun Fact: Here in Oregon, Kentucky Fried Chicken was also known as "Speck Chicken". It came from The Speck restaurants, which was a small chain that bought an area franchise. They expanded into standalone Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, but since their name was well known they put it on the signs above "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and "finger lickin' good!". Eventually they sold off their franchises and their name disappeared completely in the '70s.

Some older native Oregonians — my wife included — still call it "Speck Chicken".

(I used to give her a lot of ribbing for that. But she always reminded me that until he died in 2001, my Dad still referred to the True Value Hardware store in our hometown as "Marshall-Wells". Marshall Wells was a hardware chain that was acquired by Coast To Coast Hardware way back in 1958; they in turn were acquired by True Value in the 1980s. But for my Dad, they were always Marshall-Wells!)
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Technically, True Value is a wholesale company with independently owned storefront locations. So the store you reference could have been Coast To Coast Hardware True Value. True Value doesn’t do retail, just wholesale to its partner stores.

The same model applies to ACE Hardware. Locally branded name with ACE Hardware in the name.
 
Grant Cunningham said:
You know how sometimes you get a craving for something you haven't had in a long while, and even though it's not really 'quality' food you still want it? That's what I'm talking about today!

Back in the '70s and '80s, KFC (which was then known as Kentucky Fried Chicken) sold regular, crispy, and a heavily sauced BBQ chicken. The BBQ variety was discontinued chain-wide sometime in the '90s, perhaps as late as 2000. (Note: this was not the same as the "Honey BBQ" chicken they sell today, which is sweeter and less tangy.)

The BBQ was a thick, tangy, slightly spicy sauce that they dipped the whole pieces in after cooking. (Rumor had it that the BBQ chicken was made from Original Recipe that had sat under the heat lamps too long, and was a way to salvage chicken that would otherwise be scrapped. I don't know if that was true, I just know it was good!)

Does this ring a bell with anyone? Any ideas on how to duplicate that taste?
Click to expand...
I remember the KFC bbq chicken as well as the Foster Farms bbq chicken. I’m not sure why they stopped making it and I don’t see any Foster Farm fried chicken restaurants anymore. I thought the fried and dipped fried chicken was pretty good from both places.
 
I've always been partial to their original recipe chicken, but I did enjoy their BBQ ribs. I was able to find that recipe online. Do you suppose it's the same recipe?
 
Ed P said:
I've always been partial to their original recipe chicken, but I did enjoy their BBQ ribs. I was able to find that recipe online. Do you suppose it's the same recipe?
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I've never had the ribs, so I couldn't say.

Hopefully someone has and can clue us both in!
 
I squirted some Sweet Baby Rays on my KFC tonight, it reminded me of that chicken they had many years ago.
 
Grant, Since you are in Oregon I have a KFC observation, maybe you've seen it. In Tillamook, just as you are leaving towndown to head north on hwy 101 there used to be the very large bucket of chicken sign. The sign has been taken down now, but it lasted way longer than the building. I think it's pretty rare to see those huge buckets spinning at an angle on top of the pole.

Loren
 
Loren Hambone said:
Grant, Since you are in Oregon I have a KFC observation, maybe you've seen it. In Tillamook, just as you are leaving towndown to head north on hwy 101 there used to be the very large bucket of chicken sign. The sign has been taken down now, but it lasted way longer than the building. I think it's pretty rare to see those huge buckets spinning at an angle on top of the pole.

Loren
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It's been a while since I've been over that way, but IIRC the sign post is still there (has a different sign on it now, and the portion where the bucket sat is unused.)
 
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