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Fried Chicken

KFC 8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark

$18.99 920-2400 cal

This bucket of fried chicken includes 8 pieces of our mouthwatering dark meat chicken.

4.9 · 10 ratings

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8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark Complete Information

The KFC 8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark costs $18.99 and carries 920-2400 cal, which makes it cheaper than the standard 8 pc. Chicken Bucket for the same number of pieces. All eight are dark meat: thighs and drumsticks, no breasts and no wings. KFC prices it lower because breast is the expensive cut, not because dark meat is the lesser one, and plenty of people who know the difference order this deliberately.

Dark meat carries more fat and more connective tissue, which is exactly what a long fry wants. Nothing in this bucket can dry out the way a breast can, so it survives being held, reheated, and eaten cold the next day better than the standard mix does. It is the more forgiving bucket and the cheaper one. If you need the protein that breast brings, the 8 pc. Chicken Bucket is the version to pay up for. Compare per-person costs on the Family Meals menu.

Pairs Well Together

Mac & Cheese is carried by 21 of the restaurants we sampled, which makes it the safest thing to add.

$18.99 8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark $2.99 Mac & Cheese

Combo Total

$21.98 1,060 cal

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KFC 8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark Recipe

An all dark meat bucket is the easiest large fry to get right, because every piece in it wants the same treatment and the same finishing temperature. No juggling breast against wing, which is where the standard bucket gets difficult.

Prep30 min
Cook35 min
Total65 min
DifficultyMedium
Servings
4

Ingredients

Chicken

Brine

The seasoned flour

To fry

Method

0 of 6 steps

Tips

  • White pepper carries the Original Recipe flavour more than any other single spice in the blend. Black pepper is not a substitute; it tastes of something else entirely.
  • Rub 3 tbsp of the brine through the dry flour before you coat anything. The lumps it makes are what give the crust its craggy surface.
  • Use a thermometer in the oil and one in the chicken. Colour tells you nothing useful about how done bone-in chicken is.
  • 175F is the target here, not 165F. Dark meat needs the higher finish to break down its connective tissue, and it does not dry out on the way.

Variations

  • All thighs, if you can buy them that way. The most forgiving fry there is.
  • Add cayenne to the flour for a hot dark bucket, which handles the spice better than breast does.
  • Bake at 425F on a rack for 40 minutes for a lighter, less crisp version.

Serve it with

  • Slaw and biscuits, which cut the richness dark meat brings.
  • Cold the next day, where this bucket beats the standard one outright.
  • Cheaper to make than $18.99, and the cuts are easy to find.

A home version of 8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark. It is our own recipe, not KFC's, and the Original Recipe blend stays a trade secret.

More From the Fried Chicken Menu

Put 8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark in a Full Order

Add sides and a drink, then see what the whole tray costs and what it carries.

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8 pc. Chicken Bucket Dark Questions

$18.99, which is less than the standard 8 pc. Chicken Bucket for the same eight pieces.

Thighs and drumsticks only. No breasts, no wings. The exact split between the two varies by restaurant.

Breast is the expensive cut on a chicken and this bucket has none in it. The price reflects the market for the cuts, not the quality of the eating.

For frying, yes, and most cooks would say so plainly. More fat and more connective tissue mean it stays moist through the temperatures a good crust needs. The A La Carte Breast is the cut that punishes a minute too long.

Noticeably. Dark meat holds moisture through a second heating in a way breast does not. Ten minutes at 375F in an oven and it is close to new.

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