It took chefs several years to develop what would eventually become KFC's most clucked about new product launch in the chain's 57-year history. With between 70 to 180 calories and four to nine grams of fat, depending on the piece, the new un-fried chicken is being called "KFC's second secret recipe," and "a defining moment in our brand's storied history" in a company press release. The secret recipe for the new grilled chicken is now stored on an encrypted computer flash drive next to the Colonel's handwritten original fried chicken recipe in an electronic safe at KFC company headquarters. Oprah Winfrey featured the chicken on her talk show and gave away so many coupons for free grilled chicken meals that some customers waited in lines for over an hour and half, and several stores ran out and had to offer rain checks. Company spokesperson Laurie Schalow told the Associated Press that KFC has never seen such a huge response to any promotion. "It's unprecedented in our more than 50 years," she said. "It beats anything we've ever done."

When I heard about all the commotion over this new secret recipe I immediately locked myself up in the underground lab with a 12-piece bucket of the new grilled chicken, plus a sample I obtained of the proprietary seasoning blend, and got right to work. After days of nibbling through what amounts to a small flock of hens, I'm happy to bring you this amazing cloned version of this fast food phenomenon so that you can now reproduce it in your own kitchen. Find the smallest chicken you can for this KFC grilled chicken copycat recipe, since KFC uses young hens. Or better yet save some dough by finding a small whole chicken and cut it up yourself. The secret preparation process requires that you marinate (brine) your chicken for a couple hours in a salt and MSG solution. This will make the chicken moist all of the way through and give it great flavor. After the chicken has brined, it's brushed with liquid smoke-flavored oil that will not only make the seasoning stick to the chicken, but will also ensure that the chicken doesn't stick to the pan. The liquid smoke in the oil gives the chicken a smoky flavor as if it had been cooked on an open flame barbecue grill.

The grilled chicken at KFC is probably cooked on ribbed metal plates in specially designed convection ovens to get those grill marks. I duplicated that process using an oven-safe grill pan, searing the chicken first on the stovetop to add the grill marks, then cooking the chicken through in the oven. If you don't have a grill pan or a grill plate, you can just sear the chicken in any large oven safe saute pan. If you have a convection function on your oven you should definitely use it, but the recipe will still work in a standard oven with the temperature set just a little bit higher. After baking the chicken for 20 minutes on each side, you're ready to dive into your own 8-piece bucket of delicious indoor grilled chicken that's as tasty as the fried stuff, but without all the fat.

Check out the video demonstration of this recipe.

Source: "Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step" by Todd Wilbur

One hot summer day in 1946 Dave Barham was inspired to dip a hot dog into his mother's cornbread batter, then deep fry it to a golden brown. Dave soon found a quaint Santa Monica, California location near the beach to sell his new creation with mustard on the side and a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade. For a perfect clone of Hot Dog On A Stick, be sure you find the shorter turkey hot dogs, not "bun-length". In this case, size does matter. Snag some of the disposable wood chopsticks from a local Chinese or Japanese restaurant next time you're there and start dipping.

Update 5/3/17: If your hot dogs are browning too fast, turn the temperature of the oil down to 350 degrees. And rather than using chopsticks, thick round skewer sticks (corn dog skewers) found in houseware stores and online will work much better.

Now, how about a tall glass of Hot Dog On A Stick Lemonade?

Source: Even More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

Menu Description: "Our own special recipe made with fresh ground chuck, pork, mild onions, green peppers and more. Served with mashed potatoes, brown gravy and garlic toast."

Here's a great meatloaf recipe to add to your dinnertime repertoire. This luscious loaf combines ground chuck with ground pork along with bread crumbs, green onion, garlic, carrot and green pepper for one of the best classic American meatloaves. Use a perforated nesting meatloaf pan if you've got one so that the fat drains out into the pan below. If you don't have one of those, a regular loaf pan will still work fine. But use a large one, my Claim Jumper meatloaf recipe makes a pretty big loaf.

Complete the Claim Jumper experience with my recipes for their cheesy garlic bread and cheese potato cakes.

Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

By sneaking around to the back of a HoneyBaked Ham store I witnessed the glazing process through an open door. The hams are delivered to each of the 300 HoneyBaked outlets already smoked, but without the glaze. It is only when the ham gets to your local HoneyBaked store that a special machine thin-slices the tender meat in a spiral fashion around the bone. Then, one at a time, each ham is then coated with the glaze—a blend that is similar to what might be used to make pumpkin pie. This sweet coating is then caramelized with a blowtorch by hand until the glaze bubbles and melts, turning golden brown. If needed, more of the coating is added to the HoneyBaked Glazed Ham, and the blowtorch is fired up until the glaze is just right. It's this careful process that turns the same size ham that costs 20 dollars in a supermarket into one that customers gladly shell out 3 to 4 times as much to share during the holiday season.

For this HoneyBaked Ham glaze copycat recipe, we will re-create the glaze that you can apply to a smoked/cooked bone-in ham of your choice. Look for a ham that is pre-sliced. Otherwise you'll have to slice it yourself with a sharp knife, then the glaze will be applied. To get the coating just right you must use a blowtorch. Get the kind that is used for creme brulee from almost any kitchen supply store. They're usually pretty cheap. And don't worry—I didn't leave out an ingredient. No honey is necessary to re-create this flavorful glaze.

Now, what's for dessert?

Source: Even More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

Exclusive signed copy. The original clone recipe king has done it again. For the last thirty years Todd Wilbur has been creating amazing culinary carbon copies of all your favorite brand-name foods using his special techniques. 

In Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Recipes Unlocked, his 9th cookbook, the Clone Ranger brings you over 100 new kitchen clones! Todd reveals key ingredients and the secret-yet-simple steps for duplicating famous foods from Starbucks, McDonald's, Panera Bread, Subway, Burger King, Mrs. Fields, Taco Bell, Orange Julius, Boston Market, Popeyes, Sonic Drive-In, KFC, and many more.

Every recipe is created from scratch in Todd's top secret test kitchen, so you know you're getting the best original clone recipes on the planet!

Other books you may like: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3, and Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step.

Contents
Arby's Horsey Sauce
Baja Fresh Salsa Baja
Bisquick Original All-Purpose Baking Mix
Boston Market Butternut Squash
Boston Market Garlic Dill New Potatoes
Boston Market Sweet Potato Casserole
Budweiser Chelada
Burger King Onion Rings
Burger King Zesty Onion Ring Dipping Sauce
Carl's Jr. The Six Dollar Burger
Carnegie Deli Classic New York City Cheesecake
Chex Mix Bold Party Blend
Chick-fil-A Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce
Chick-fil-A Carrot & Raisin Salad
Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
Chipotle Mexican Grill Barbacoa Burrito
Cliff & Buster Coconut Macaroons
Cocoa-Cole Blak
Crunch 'N Munch Buttery Toffee Popcorn with Peanuts
Dairy Queen MooLatte
Del Taco Crispy Fish Taco
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Yellow Cake Mix
Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Coolatta
Einstein Bros. Bagels Santa Fe Egg Sandwich
El Pollo Loco Avocado Salsa
El Pollo Loco BBQ Baked Beans
El Pollo Loco Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fritos Hot Bean Dip
Hellman's/Best Foods Mayonnaise
Hidden Valley The Original Ranch Dressing
Jack in the Box Pumpkin Pie Shake
Jacquin's Peppermint Schnapps
Jason's Deli Creamy Liqueur Fruit Dipping  Sauce
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage--Regular
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage--Maple
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage--Hot
KFC Cajun Honey Wings
KFC  Chicken Pot Pie
Kozy Shack Rice Pudding
Kraft Miracle Whip
Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts
Lawry's Red Pepper Seasoned Salt (made with Tabasco)
Lipton Brisk Iced Tea
Lipton Diet Green Tea with Citrus
Lincoln Snacks Poppycock
Maid-Rite Loose Meat Sandwich
M&M/Mars Munch Bar
Mauna Loa Kona Coffee Glazed Macadamias
McDonald's Sweet Tea
McDonald's Vanilla Iced Coffee
McDonald's Cinnamon Melts
McDonald's Fruit & Walnut Salad
McDonald's Tangy Honey Mustard
McDonald's Lobster Sandwich
Mrs. Fields Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Mrs. Fields Pumpkin Harvest Cookies
No Pudge! Original Fat Free Fudge Brownie Mix
Nuts 4 Nuts Candied Nuts
Old Bay Seasoning
Orange Julius Banana Julius
Orange Julius Strawberry-Banana Classic Smoothie
Pal's Sauceburger
Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Panera B read Cranberry Walnut Bagel
Panera Bread French Onion Soup
Panera Bread Spinach Artichoke Baked Egg Soufflé
Pepperidge Farm Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies
Popeyes  Buttermilk Biscuits
Popeyes Cajun Gravy
Popeyes Cajun Sparkle
Popeyes Red Beans and Rice --Improved
Ragu Pasta Sauce--Meat
Ragu Pasta Sauce--Tomato, Basil, and Italian Cheese
Rondele Garlic & Herbs Cheese Spread
Sabra Classic Hummus
Skyline Chili
Sonic Drive-In Peanut Butter Shake
Sonic Drive-In Peanut Butter Fudge Shake
Sonic Drive-In Strawberry Cheesecake Shake
Sonic Drive-In Sonic Burger
Sonic Drive-In Hickory Burger
Sonic Drive-In Jalapeno Burger
The Soup Nazi's Crab Bisque
The Soup Nazi's Cream of Sweet Potato Soup
The Soup Nazi's Indian Mulligatawny
The Soup Nazi's Mexican Chicken Chili
Spatini Spaghetti Sauce Mix
Starbucks Caramel Macchiato
Starbucks Frappuccino (Bottle Version)
Starbucks Gingerbread Latte
Starbucks Hot Chocolate
Starbucks Mocha Coconut Frappuccino
Starbucks Carrot Cake
Starbucks Classic Coffee Cake
Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar
Starbucks Lemon Loaf
Starbucks Maple Oat Nut Scone
Starbucks Peppermint Brownie
Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin
Starbucks Pumpkin Scone
Starbucks Vanilla Almond Biscotti
Stouffer's Macaroni & Cheese
Subway Bourbon Street Glaze
Subway Chipotle Southwest Sauce
Subway Sweet Onion Sauce
Taco Bell Baja Sauce
Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla
Taco Bell Mild Border Sauce
Wendy's Garden Sensations Mandarin Chicken Salad
Wendy's Wild Mountain Bacon Cheeseburger
Weight Watchers Smart Ones Banana Muffins
Yonah Schimmel Low-Fat New York City Knish

What is it about Stouffer's Macaroni & Cheese that makes it the number one choice for true mac & cheese maniacs? It's probably the simple recipe that includes wholesome ingredients like skim milk and real Cheddar cheese, without any preservatives or unpronounceable chemicals. The basic Stouffer's Mac and Cheese ingredients are great for kitchen cloners who want an easy fix that doesn't require much shopping. 

I created my Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese recipe to work as an exact duplicate of the actual product: a frozen dish that you heat up later in the oven. This way you'll get slightly browned macaroni & cheese that looks like it posed for the nicely lit photo on the Stouffer's box. Since you'll only need about 3/4 cup of uncooked elbow macaroni for each recipe, you can make several 4-person servings with just one 16-ounce box of macaroni, and then keep them all in the freezer until the days when your troops have their mac & cheese attacks. Be sure to use freshly shredded Cheddar cheese here, since it melts much better than pre-shredded cheese (and it's cheaper). Use a whisk to stir the sauce often as it thickens, so that you get a smooth—not lumpy or grainy—finished product. 

If you're still hungry, check out my copycat recipes for famous entrées here.

Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

Order an entree from America's largest seafood restaurant chain and you'll get a basket of some of the planet's tastiest garlic-cheese biscuits served up on the side. For many years, the Cheddar Bay Biscuits recipe has been the most-searched-for clone recipe on the Internet, according to Red Lobster. As a result, several versions are floating around, including one that was at one time printed right on the box of Bisquick baking mix.

The problem with making biscuits using Bisquick is that if you follow the directions from the box you don't end up with a very fluffy or flakey finished product, since most of the fat in the recipe comes from the shortening that's included in the mix. On its own, room temperature shortening does a poor job creating the light, airy texture you want from good biscuits, and it contributes little in the way of flavor. So, we'll invite some cold butter along on the trip -- with grated Cheddar cheese and a little garlic powder. Now you'll be well on your way to delicious Cheddar Bay. Wherever that is.

Complete the Red Lobster experience and make favorite entrées and side dishes here.

In the early 90's Boston Chicken was rockin' it. The home meal replacement chain's stock was soaring and the lines were filled with hungry customers waiting to sink their teeth into a serving of the chain's delicious rotisserie chicken. So successful was the chain with chicken, that the company quickly decided it was time to introduce other entree selections, the first of which was a delicious barbecue sauce-covered ground sirloin meatloaf. But offering the other entrees presented the company with a dilemma: what to do about the name. The bigwigs decided it was time to change the name to Boston Market, to reflect a wider menu. That meant replacing signs on hundreds of units and retooling the marketing campaigns. That name change, plus rapid expansion of the chain and growth of other similar home-style meal concepts sent the company into a tailspin. By 1988, Boston Market's goose was cooked, and the company filed for bankruptcy. Soon McDonald's stepped in to purchase the company, with the idea of closing many of the stores for good, and slapping Golden Arches on the rest. But that plan was scrapped when, after selling many of the under-performing Boston Markets, the chain began to fly once again.  Within a year of the acquisition Boston Market was profitable, and those meals with the home-cooked taste are still being served at over 700 Boston Market restaurants across the country.

How about some of those famous Boston Market side-dishes to go with your copycat  meatloaf recipe? I've cloned all the best ones here.

Source: Even More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.
Try my improved version in Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step.

The redesigned Kahlua Coffee Liqueur labels now says "Rum and Coffee Liqueur," which is a helpful description when creating a clone version of the famous cordial. This text was not on the bottle 30 years ago when I made my first version of this liqueur using vodka—not rum. So, back into the lab went I, to create an improved version of the drink with rum, just like the label says.

I used light rum for my Kahlua recipe because it is more of a neutral taste like the vodka called for in my first version, but since it doesn't include the caramel color added to Kahlua, your drink will come out a lighter shade of brown than the real stuff. However, you can also use dark rum in this recipe, which will add other flavor notes to your finished product, plus caramel color to deepen the shade of your liqueur.  

There are many other famous drinks you can make at home! See if I cloned your favorites here.