Reporter stumbles across secret KFC recipe

It’s one of the closest guarded secrets in the food industry, right up there with the formula for Coke Classic.

But in a strange turn of events, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune appears to have stumbled across the recipe for Colonel Sanders’ famous fried chicken.

He had initially set out to write a feature piece on the history of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain, complete with a visit to the official Harland Sanders Caf and Museum.

While there, he interviewed the colonel’s nephew, Joe Ledington, who also showed him an old family scrapbook.

Right there staring back from one of the pages was the recipe, scrawled on the back of the last will and testament of Sanders’s second wife.

When asked if the recipe was the real-deal, Ledington reportedly responded saying, “Yup, that is the original 11 herbs and spices that were supposed to be so secretive.”

And here it is for you to judge on your own:

11 spices — Mix with 2 cups white flour…

2/3 Tbs salt
1/2 Tbs thyme
1/2 Tbs basil
1/3 Tbs oregano
1 Tbs celery salt
1 Tbs black pepper
1 Tbs dried mustard
4 Tbs paprika
2 Tbs garlic salt
1 Tbs ground ginger
3 Tbs white pepper

The food staff at the Tribune tried out the recipe for themselves, and they say it’s the real thing.

They say the only thing missing from this original version is MSG, an ingredient that KFC has acknowledged using in the past.

YUM! Brands, the parent company of KFC, has not confirmed or denied the recipe’s authenticity.