I’ve heard that dribbling some liquid into the dry breading causes clumping that results in a thick, corn-flakey coating. I feel like I’ve tried this but clearly didn’t record my results adequately, suggesting the experiment needs to be repeated
For science.
I’m not certain if it’s a pickle flavor, or a vinegar flavor, but a lot of the “new” chicken sandwiches feature it, and it’s a turn-off for me.
Huh. I must just not be sensitive to the flavor. Popeyes, KFC, BK, I don’t taste it in the chicken patty. I’ll try concentrating more on the flavor next time I have one of those. Vinegar or another acid is standard in marinades, though. The copycat recipes seem to all use buttermilk and a handful of the usual spices for the marinade. I can’t find anything definitive though.
So, you eat away the middle, and leave the edge hanging in mid air?
I like the chicken more than the bun, and if chicken hangs out, I’ll start by eating that. I may never finish the bun. Sometimes, if I’m not too hungry, I’ll deconstruct a sandwich and just eat the filling and discard the bun.
Finally! Another sensible person who embraces the fact that bread is a crucial part of a sandwich. I don’t understand folks who “prefer the parts without bread”. Makes no sense. If you don’t want bread, don’t order a sandwich.
And whatever you do, don’t call it a “sammich” because that’s just sickens people and turns them off from “sandwiches” until they can flush the idiot word from their brains.
What if I’m mainly after a convenient non-messy handling surface? That was the original Earl of Sandwich’s motivation (although it is alleged he ate the bread as well).
It’s my language, I’ll do what I want with it. 
Pretty much how I make it, also learned in Georgia (but in the Atlanta suburbs):
When they go back to making chicken sandwiches with dark meat… I’ll be back in the game. Same with nuggets.
This idiotic love affair with white meat that we’ve been suffering with for nigh 20 years now is damned stupid.
All IMHO of course.
Bread is an essential part of a sandwich. But… I save any overhanging meat for last, because meat > bread.
Remember when they’d offer the Italian one, with marinara and cheese? Mmmboy!
AIUI Chick fil A uses powdered sugar in their breading, which offsets the sourness of the pickle. I don’t ordinarily like pickles at all but on this they work.
I can’t find it but there was a program called “Junk Food Flip” where Bobby Deen (Paula’s son) and Nikki Dinki take their food truck and challenge locals’ signature dishes. They try to make something that tastes just as good without being as unhealthy. I can’t remember in which episode Bobby busted out cornflakes as a way to keep calories down. They aren’t exactly low-cal, but compared to the competition…
I had one once or twice. But the Original was the best.
Sounds like chicken Parmesan which I always felt was overrated.
Oh hell yeah. I make them at home (simple milk and egg with some hot sauce dip, single seasoned flour dredge) with boneless skinless thighs. Pure heaven. (Well, I also Nashville them up with a fat and heavy cayenne pepper and Slap Ya Mama baste before serving.)
So long as it’s not over-cooked, I think chicken breast meat is quite tasty. Thighs can be tasty, too, and are a little harder to over-cook. Both make perfectly fine sandwiches.
I like Chik-fil-A spicy chicken sandwiches. However, Checkers (AKA Rally’s) has its spicy chicken sandwich at two for $4. I take them home, add a bit of sriracha, nuke them for thirty seconds, and they’re pretty good. They aren’t quite as good as the Chik-fil-A sandwich, but I get two for less than the cost of one of those!
Sorry, but I don’t believe that Her Majesty the Queen is posting on a random message board.
Yeah, when it’s done right, Popeye’s version is the best. The problem is it’s horribly inconsistent around here. Popeye’s have to be among the worst run fast-food restaurants. Chick-Fil-A always has great service, a clean restaurant, and consistent product. I know they have their issues, but they employ my friend’s special needs son – and I usually find special needs people working at their restaurants – so, for me, that offsets any issues I may have with them. They are well-run, friendly, and churn out good food. Popeyes, at least around here, has indifferent to surly staff, messy dining areas, and are all over the place in quality. When they’re on, that sandwich is nirvana. When they’re not, it’s still not terrible, but disappointing when you know how it’s supposed to be.
I order my chicken sandwiches plain and add cheese so there are no pickles on my sandwich at all. If they don’t use pickle juice, then why do I taste pickles? Maybe it’s dill in the batter. Whatever it is, I don’t like it. Someone up-thread mentioned that I was late to the game and that McDonald’s homestyle chicken sandwich has had the pickle taste for years. I’m not talking about the homestyle sandwich. I tried that one when it first came out and hated it. They now have a crispy chicken sandwich that is “pickle-flavored”. I tried it a few months ago because it looked delicious (like Wendy’s), but I was very disappointed when I immediately tasted dill. YUCK
The best fast-food chicken sandwiches are Wendy’s spicy (the plain is good too) and BK’s old timey rectangle sandwiches. I’ve never tried the KFC sandwich.
There’s no pickle juice in their ingredients, from their website:
Chicken (boneless skinless chicken breast filet, seasoning [salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika], enriched bleached wheat flour [with malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening [baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate], spice, soybean oil, color [paprika], water, nonfat milk, egg, fully refined peanut oil, with Dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foam agent added)
It’s possible there is dill in the “spices” part. Perhaps that is what you’re tasting. Or it could be the breading, like you said. My kids hate pickles and dill, but they like Chick-Fil-A. I’m assuming you probably are tasting dill and you are extra-sensitive to that flavor. Like I said, I taste no dill whatsoever in the breast itself, but I grew up with dill being everywhere in my food, so my tastes are likely blunted to that flavor.