Purpose of potassium in a KFC CopyCat marinade recipe?

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g23

Cook
Joined
Feb 17, 2007
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Wales, UK
i've got a kfc chicken marinate that contains potassium and since i've not come across potassium as an ingredient in a marinate i was wondering if anyone knew what its purpose is?

i've gooled it and found it's an essential nutrient to the body but not why it's included in a recipe unless old colonel sanders just wanted to feel better about his msg laden recipe by tossing some essential nutrient into it.:question:
 
Here's the short answer on one of the benefits of potassium. One of potassium's benefits for our bodies is to aid in the metabolism of sugar to glycogen to provide energy for what we need to do everyday. Glycogen can be stored by the muscles and liver and released when our bodies need it. This benefit of potassium is in helping your body store energy for later use without converting it to fat.
 
In what form is the "potassium"?
Potassium is a necessary element. Why are you so angry and distrustful of including it? I, personally, have never seen a recipe that said "add 1/2C potassium", however.
 
Potassium chloride is a salt substitute.

I, too, have never seen just potassium listed as an ingredient in a recipe.


Edited to correct error and extraneous information.
 
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I have never seen a recipe that called to potassium without also listing which of its forms was needed ... I assume you are talking about the CopyCat KFC Marinade recipe that calls for 2 tablespoons potassium chloride??.

If so - it appears that in this case the marinade also acts as a curing solution ... and the potassium chloride is acting as both a flavor enhancer and an aid in moisture retention ... similar to a brine but not as salty.

Like Aurora said - it's often used as a salt substitute by people on sodium restricted diets.
 
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potassium is an essential nutrient. i almost died at 23 due to a lack of potassium directly attributing to my heartattack. may be as simple, though, as adding a salt-like flavor.
 
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also the addition of Elemental Potassium (the metal itself) would preclude the need to Cook the chicken entirely :)

there would be a Lovely Lilac colored Flash, a sound to wake the dead, and although de-feathered and cut up, this Chicken would still Fly :)

Luvs: yeah Hypo-kallemia(sp) if quite dangerous, glad yer Ok now though :)
 
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From what I've read potassium can react with certain types of foods. Sort of like a copper bowl will stiffen egg whites up better then they would in a aluminum bowl. My thought is maybe the potassium will help to thicken the marinade a little better.
 
Michael in FtW said:
I have never seen a recipe that called to potassium without also listing which of its forms was needed ... I assume you are talking about the CopyCat KFC Marinade recipe that calls for 2 tablespoons potassium chloride??.

If so - it appears that in this case the marinade also acts as a curing solution ... and the potassium chloride is acting as both a flavor enhancer and an aid in moisture retention ... similar to a brine but not as salty.

Like Aurora said - it's often used as a salt substitute by people on sodium restricted diets.


yes it's that recipe excepy mine just said pottasium.the flavor enhancer in that recipe is the msg but i would be guessing like you said that it might be a curing solution or maybe binds the other ingredients more.

i would assume then that it taste salty if it's being used as a salt substitute.
 
i made the chicken today without the potassium and they seemed to turn out alright, quite tasty but definitely not kfc. so i guess i wont be making another batch with the potassium to see the difference.


thanks all for your input.
 
g23 said:
i made the chicken today without the potassium and they seemed to turn out alright, quite tasty but definitely not kfc. so i guess i wont be making another batch with the potassium to see the difference.


thanks all for your input.


Like others have said, your recipe has a typo in it, not that you could easily obtain potassium anyway.

And I imagine it will be also be a challenge to find potassium chloride.

I'd settle for "quite tasty" or just go to KFC.
 
What was the Colonel's saying? 37 secret herbs and spices, plus he pressured cooked it before frying? I just love the extra crispy crust...but I don't like the chicken. :LOL:
 
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Half Baked said:
What was the Colonel's saying? 37 secret herbs and spices, plus he pressured cooked it before frying? I just love the extra crispy crust...but I don't like the chicken. :LOL:


It's pressure fried in huge cookers.

I've never heard of LO SALT but I'm sure we must have it here.
 
It goes by other names as well. I know it is Nu-Salt. At the nursing home, you needed a doctors order to get it, because of its high potassium content.
 
yeah, that makes sense, as HypER-kallemia is just as dangerous as HyPO.

in fact it`s KCl soln that`s used when you terminate a criminal with "Lethal Injection"
 
You could also use potassium nitrate, which is easily obtainable and relatively inexpensive. Just don't expect much of a performance from your significant other after dinner! :ohmy:
 
KNO3 as in 75% of Gunpowder, used as a meat preservative along with the nitrIte KNO2.

I feed that stuff to my Chili peppers when they`re in Flower and producing friut :)
 
jennyema said:
Like others have said, your recipe has a typo in it, not that you could easily obtain potassium anyway.

And I imagine it will be also be a challenge to find potassium chloride.

I'd settle for "quite tasty" or just go to KFC.


normally i would just go to kfc if i wanted kfc chicken but alas we moved about a year ago and the closest kfc is four hours away! :( :(
 
so if any of you have come across an authentic kfc recipe please take pity on me and give me the recipe. :mrgreen:
 
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