Why do all the various incarnations of chicken sandwiches all look like someone took a piece of chicken breast, dipped it in egg batter, and then rolled it in a bowl of Kellogg’s corn flakes?
I don’t know which fast-food chain started it, but they all sure jumped on the copycat bandwagon. They seem to think that it makes the chicken look hand-dipped and fried, rather than being machine-made.
Because they typically use skinless white meat which is usually less then tasty by itself as it is somewhat dry and does not have much fat to enhance the flavor. The breading adds some crispiness and holds oil to help the flavor profile a hell of a lot. So it makes it very tasty. And that’s what fast food is about very tasty food that is not good for man nor beast.
I’m more put off that every chicken sandwich uses mayonaisse and two pickles and that’s it.
That would be Chick-fil-A getting imitated.
https://coralvillecourier.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ff4c2f888330263e956d65d200b-600wi
Because the crunch is the best part.
I’m fine with the coating but I absolutely HATE that they’re all soaking their chicken in pickle juice like Chick-fil-A. I hate pickles. A while back, I tried McDonald’s new chicken sandwich and was very disappointed to bite into a chicken breast that tasted like a pickle.
Yeah, I agree. I don’t mind pickles on the side, but I don’t want them on my Chicken (or my burger).
I don’t want my fried chicken to be crunchy. In or outside of a sandwich.
Burger King has been making chicken breast sandwiches forever. Back when I was eating fast food, I eschewed them. I preferred their Original Chicken Sandwich with the processed fillet.
If I want to eat a hunk of un-chopped chicken breast, I’ll have it grilled on toasted focaccia with aioli, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado.
Do you mean the pickle part, or the whole manner of cooking and serving the chicken breast?
We don’t have Chick-fil-A around here – no, wait, I just looked it up and apparently there is a new one in a shopping center near me, the only one in the immediate environs of San Francisco. Anyway, I’ve never been, so I don’t have any experience with their chicken sandwich to compare to.
I think the pickle deal places like McDonald’s are doing is most certainly trying to replicate the chik-fil-a sandwich. They even name it “Southern Style” (Chik-fil-a started in Georgia I believe) since they couldn’t flat out name it “Chik-fil-a style”.
I’ve had Chick-fil-A maybe a couple of times, long enough ago that I don’t remember a thing about them. Stands to reason that, if they’re copying what the sandwich is dressed with, they’re also copying how it’s made. Or what @Hampshire said.
ISTR Popeye’s also offering their own version. Or maybe that was KFC?
You’re a little late to the party; McDonalds’ chicken sandwiches and biscuits have had a distinct dill note in their flavor for a long time now.
I think part of the problem is that there’s just not that much that you can realistically do with a chicken sandwich. You can doll it up with the usual lettuce, tomato and pickles, you can use sauces on it, and you can do stuff like add different meats like bacon, or cheeses to it. And that’s about it.
And it’s pretty obvious that people like the Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, so copying it makes some sense in that they can swipe a bit of market share with something already on the menu, if they tweak it a bit.
From what I have read, In N Out does not use pickle juice in their brine, despite clone recipes claiming/guessing it does. I tend to agree with the folks who say there is no pickle juice in it. I don’t taste pickle juice in a plain Chick Fil A breast, nor have I noticed it in any other fast food chicken. (It’s possible they may have dill, but it hasn’t stuck out to me. KFC’s sandwich, for instance, does not taste at all of dill/pickle to me.)
Carl’s Jr used to have the best damned chikin sammich–a flat round processed filet of chikin, cheese, a big old flabby slab of pickled chili and some orange spicy sauce. For a buck. Man, that thing was sleazy AF but absolutely, sublimely so. I miss that thing.
Agreed! Burger King’s Original Chicken sandwich has long been my favorite. And their miniature version is nearly as good and a great buy.
I think your fingers got ahead of your brain and AutoCorrected something while the latter caught up, but just in case they didn’t, what would In-n-Out brine, having no chicken products, just burgers?
Damn brain, age, or medication! Chick-Fil-A.
Ugh, we are on the same planet, different worlds. My grandmother’s fried chicken was not crunchy, and even though I loved her, it was the worst fried chicken I’ve ever had. My mother grew up swearing she’d learn to do two things my grandmother couldn’t: make good fried chicken and a good meringue. She did both, and her crispy chicken is still something I pine for. Even though I’ve mostly moved on to more flavorful recipes, that woman knew how to season a batter and fry up nice crispy chicken.
All that said, my favorite chicken sammich is still Chick-fil-a. I discard the pickles, but that soft-ish breading is just fine for a sandwich, and I’ve never had a convincing substitute.