The Chicken Sandwich Wars are Here. And the Winner is…..

There’s been a lot of hype recently about chicken sandwiches at fast food restaurants. They’re all claiming superiority, but only one sandwich can be the best. You probably don’t care enough to try them all, so we did it for you. Yes, we’ve missed a few, but who really eats the old version chicken sandwich at the 3rd tier chain? Based on our long-term love of fried food and our lack of fear of fast food, our rankings follow. We usually order the sandwich with mayo only. No pickles, no lettuce, no tomatoes. The chicken should speak for itself. The mayo is included to ensure we don’t choke on what could be a bone-dry mouthful.

6. Burger King Original Chicken Sandwich

Confession: This sandwich has been a comfort-food choice for many years. It probably shouldn’t even be called a chicken sandwich, it’s more like a chicken-parts sandwich. No piece of any chicken has ever been shaped in a long oval. It’s formed using a variety of who knows what. But it tastes pretty good. It’s been the same since 1979 when it was introduced. It may have actually been made then and served today. The best thing we can say about it is we’ll eat another one this year and to us it tastes better than the new McDonalds Crispy Chicken sandwich.

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5. McDonalds Crispy Chicken Sandwich

It’s “CrispyJuicyTender” per McDonalds website. It’s “meh” to your tastebuds. When the big players in the chicken sandwich space went at it, McDonalds upped their game and presented this sandwich. They should’ve stuck to burgers. It’s ok as a sandwich, but we’ll never buy another one unless they’re sold out of Quarter Pounders or Big Macs. It has a little seasoning but it’s mostly bland and dry. It only beat the BK Original because it’s actually a chicken breast. Since we’re all healthy eaters, better to consume an actual breast than what could possibly be chicken parts. If you want chicken parts at McDonalds, you’ll need to get some McNuggets.

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4. KFC Chicken Sandwich

If you were born last year, you may not know that KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken. FRIED chicken. They know how. Their entry into the competition is solid; it tastes like a big piece of boneless extra-crispy recipe chicken because that’s basically what it is. And it’s good. You should try one. It’s crispy, it’s juicy, it has some mild spices and actual flavor. The only reason it didn’t nudge out #2 is because the day we tried one, the sandwich seemed a little burned. If you’ve ever worked in a fast-food restaurant, you know that the grease they use for frying gets old. It can be used to cook too many servings. Our sandwich tasted like it was in the last batch cooked in that grease. We’ll try again, it deserved a second chance.

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3. Burger King Hand Breaded Chicken

Size matters. Or that’s what somebody told Burger King. This thing is HUGE. Big enough that you have to plan the correct attack angle for your first bite to be sure that you can get around it. Wow. It earns the number three spot simply because of its enormity. It tastes pretty good too. Crunchy outside, hot and juicy inside. Be sure to add the condiment of your choice, there’s a LOT of breading on this thing.

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2. Chick-fil-A

There’s not much for us to write about this sandwich. You’ve had one and you already know. You can buy one at any location in the country and it will be EXACTLY what you expect. It’ll have the little edge of crunch somewhere on the sandwich that you can save for last or devour in the first bite. They’re always juicy, always fresh, and are consistently outstanding. Their quality control is the best in the industry. But they’ve lost their crown. Long Live the King!

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1. Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich

There wasn’t a chicken sandwich war until Popeyes introduced theirs in 2019. It probably wouldn’t have been a phenomenon if Chick-fil-A hadn’t tweeted “Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the [heart] for the original.” Oops. Suddenly all their followers had to try one and a stampede ensued. Lines were out the door and around the parking lot. Stores sold out quickly and took a while to restock. That’s over now and you can get one today if you’re fortunate enough to have Popeyes near you. The sandwich is a huge crunchy mouthful that’ll make you smile every time you pull one out of the bag. This is what “crispy” means. Every bite has a satisfying crunch and the meat is juicy and flavorful. It’s hard not to enjoy this sandwich. Forgive the slightly blurry picture, sometimes anticipation can make your hands shake.

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HONORABLE MENTION: Top Round Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich

This is what every other chicken sandwich should be. You should try it. The problem is you probably can’t. There are only five locations - three in California, one in Texas and one in Florida. The sandwich isn’t crispy, it’s crunchy. It’s brined in buttermilk and pickle juice then fried. They don’t make it until you order it and it’ll probably burn your mouth on the first bite. Be sure to get a side of tater-tots. They fry them in beef tallow, whatever that is. It sounds like it’s the fat from a side of beef and what carnivore wouldn’t like that? The tots are worth it, order some. Don’t share, you won’t want to.

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The Mistake That Got Reviewed Anyway

Poor Burger King. It was busy that day. Order #94 at the drive-thru was a Hand Breaded Chicken with fries and a root beer. Order #81 at dine-in was a Spicy Hand Breaded Chicken with fries and a coke. Somehow the sandwiches got switched. Somebody wasn’t happy that their spicy sandwich wasn’t spicy. We didn’t realize the mistake until we’d made it home and took a bite.

In order to make the sandwich spicy, BK dunks the breast in what is essentially Buffalo sauce. It is spicy, but only mildly so. It does add some moisture and flavor to sandwich and it was actually pretty good. If you like your sandwiches that way, give it a try.

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Missed Opportunities

We realize we missed a few potential competitors, we could only eat so many chicken sandwiches. If you've tried one from another fast food chain and think it should be on top, let us know! Wendy's? Churches? Jack in the Box? Plenty of options in this chicken sandwich war.

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Adam Ewing has worked as an Engineer for aerospace and steel manufacturers as well as a Consultant for an R&D tax credit firm. He currently works as an Implementation Consultant for a financial software company. Adam has a B.S. and an M.B.A. from the University of Alabama. His interests include traveling, cars, cooking, and triathlons. You can also find Adam on LinkedIn.

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