Christmas dinner without gravy is a seasonal travesty, and we’re relieved to hear that fast food outlets feel the same way.
In Channel 4 documentary Inside KFC At Christmas, the fried chicken chain reveals how it makes its signature gravy – and it’s not pretty.
Adam Mala, the assistant manager at a store in Chorley, Lancashire, reveals that the branches can get a little competitive when it comes to making the fan-favourite sauce.
“People might say that its ‘only gravy’. No, it’s not only gravy. We need the gravy to be the best it can, we need it to be the best in the company," he says on the show.
Team member Anne Walker is in charge of gravy production at the Buckshaw branch in Lancashire, which sells twice as much gravy as the average KFC store.
She reveals that the finger-licking dressing is made using the leftover juices and chicken scraps found at the bottom of the chicken fryers, a substance she calls “crackling”.
Walker explains that the gravy comprises two scoops of crackling mixed with 3.5 litres of water. Then comes the “magic ingredient”, which comes in a mystery foil bag.
“There’s nothing on the packet to tell you what’s in the magic ingredients,” Walker says.
Gravy is traditionally made by combining meat juices with water and stock, which is then thickened with flour, so it’s possible that the so-called “magic ingredient” contains a combination of stock and flour.
“Whisk it up so it’s nice and smooth and all the bits are all mixed up,” Walker says. “Voila. Then we just pop it in the microwave.”
Although the crackling may not appeal to all diners, Walker is a big fan.
“If you’re going to KFC, you’ve got to have gravy. It’s nice gravy,” she insists.
In nearby Chorley, branch manager Cris Manolache says the local enthusiasm for gravy outweighs the love for fried chicken.
“Here, if you don't have the gravy you are better off shutting down than staying open,” he says.
“It's better to run out of chicken than gravy. The people will have the gravy without the chicken.“
Over the festive period, it’s estimated that KFC will sell around 1.7 million pots of gravy per week.
This figure is enhanced by the recent introduction of a new Christmas Gravy Burger, which is comprised of a fillet and a hash brown with a specially designed well in which to pour gravy.
The burger is then topped with Gravynnaise: a combination of gravy, mayonnaise and cheese.
If this floats your (gravy) boat, act fast – it’s only on KFC menus until 1 January 2021.
Inside KFC At Christmas airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday 16 December.
