Florida

Only in Hialeah: This KFC Location Serves Flan

For almost 50 years, that has been the secret of one of the most successful KFC’s in South Florida, located at 811 West 49 Street.

Hialeah is the city in Florida with the largest population of Hispanics, so it shouldn't be surprising that it's giving a Latin touch to one of the most traditional fast food restaurants in the United States.

The famous KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is known for its genuine American food and flavors: southern fried chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and buttered corn on the cob.

But it turns out that one KFC, in Hialeah of course, added a Latin favorite to their menu: flan.

For almost 50 years, that has been the secret of one of the most successful KFC's in South Florida, located at 811 West 49 Street.

The idea came from late Cuban chef, Baldomero González, who created a special recipe using some of the traditional Kentucky Fried Chicken menu items: sugar from the coleslaw, eggs from the breading of the chicken, and condensed milk from the Key Lime Pie -- cooking everything in the pans that they used to use for fried chicken.

His recipe resulted in a thick and creamy flan that was added to the menu in 1975 for 99 cents.

The establishment prepares about 45 flans a week and many more during the holiday season, when some customers buy entire flans for their celebrations and as gifts.

Dishes of flan are ordered by customers from all over Florida, from the Keys to Orlando. They make it fresh every day and it is never frozen.

The flan recipe in this KFC in Hialeah is as secret as the recipe for fried chicken -- all that has been revealed about the chicken is that it has "11 different species."

The flan recipe is considered so valuable that it was part of the agreement when the franchise changed ownership. Now the head of the kitchen, Blanca Rosa Ortiz, of Nicaraguan origin, maintains the original recipe and has only taught Frank Turcios, who's been a chef for 26 years, how to make it.

Both claim that the secret ingredient is a lot of love.

One 9-ounce piece is priced at $2.89 and is 650 calories.

Without a doubt, it is the perfect Latin touch for this typical American restaurant.

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