KFC’s famous top secret '11 herbs and spices' was once leaked by Colonel Sanders’ nephew

KFC has long bragged about the tastiness of its chicken and credited it to its 'secret blend of herbs and spices', a secret they kept under lock and key for decades.

When it comes to food secrets, KFC did its best for a very long time to keep its fried chicken recipe away from the eyes of the public.

They were successful for decades in this, with people insisting no one really does it like the fast-food giant.

KFC attracts millions of customers with its fried chicken (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

With a solid product and good marketing - in fact, very good marketing because when I say ‘finger lickin' good’ there really is one outlet you think of - they were able to take on the other giants in the industry.

But this secret they had held on to for so long eventually leaked out into the world and by the most unlikely culprit - Colonel Sanders’ nephew, Joe Ledington.

Only a few years ago, Ledington blabbed to the world what was going on.

Colonel Sanders has previously been honest with customers that the range of seasonings could be found in their homes, but no matter how many measurements of salt, pepper or garlic people might have attempted to sprinkle in, it never hit quite as nicely as the real thing.

That is, until Jay Jones, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune secured a meeting with Ledington in which he spilled the beans (BBQ flavoured of course).

What exactly makes it so finger lickin' good? (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

And the fries, and everything else that goes into a good KFC.

Rather than being placed under lock and key, it was revealed that the recipe was placed in a family scrapbook, written on the back of the last will and testament of Ledington's aunt, Claudia.

Handwritten with blue ink, the list is titled: "11 Spices — Mix With 2 Cups White Fl."

Ledington casually explained: "That is the original 11 herbs and spices that were supposed to be so secretive."

Since then, he has seemingly attempted to backtrack, saying: "It could be; I don't know for sure."

The main ingredients of the recipe include four tablespoons of paprika, three tablespoons of white pepper and two tablespoons of garlic salt.

The recipe was written on the back of a will (Chicago Tribune)

"The main ingredient is white pepper," Ledington revealed. "I call that the secret ingredient. Nobody (in the 1950s) knew what white pepper was. Nobody knew how to use it."

Other herbs and spices include thyme, basil and oregano, as well as salt - but not just any salt.

According to the handwritten note, the '11 herbs and spices' have three separate kinds of salt in them - garlic, regular and surprisingly, celery.

Dried mustard and pepper account for the slightly spicy kick, with ground ginger also thrown in there for good measure.

After getting their hands on the ingredients, the news outlet recreated the recipe following the note and confirmed it was 'finger lickin' good'.

Still, sometimes it's just nice to treat yourself to the real thing, isn't it?