You might think that, as fast food is widely accessible and quite affordable, menu items would be a penny a dozen. The chefs believe the opposite, however-and generally have fiery fires on which makes the best fast food cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches, cold submarines, fries and beyond.
Because you deserve anything less from the most delicious food, we frequently question the pros to help write our “Mont Rushmore” of fast food favorites – open open and each dollar. We have already covered the best fast food chicken sandwich and MVP fast food chicken chicken. Now it’s time to top a winner in the classic fritable chicken category. We are talking about breasts and fried chicken thighs, the genre that you can often mark by the bucket or the combo meal.
Our panel of fried chicken notation
- Jing Gao, a chief of Las Vegas, in Nevada, founder and CEO of Fly by Jing, and author of “The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp”
- Dina Deleasa Gonsar, The Whippany, New Jersey -based recipe developer behind Dish it girl and the author of “At The Kitchen Sink”
- Dominic Iannarelli, Chief Prime Prime & Providence in West of Monks, Iowa
- Kelly Jaggers, the author of Dallas, Texas, “The Whar® Restaurant Copycat Recipes Cookbook”
- Mackenzie Smith, a new food blogger from Smyrna Beach, Florida, and author of “Grilled Cheese Social”
- Meghan Splawn, an independent food writer Chattanooga, based in Tennessee and creator of the recipe and the meal plan, Stig & Scribble
Qualities of the best fried chicken at fast food
“I think there is a difference in expectations for fried chicken sandwiches against fried chicken or even chicken straps,” said food writer Meghan Splawn. “I tend to think that some channels make one or perhaps two very good, but no one nails the three.”
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When we say “fried chicken”, we hear pieces of golden brown chicken coated with coated chicken in a broken and crisp crust. Here are the features that bring out the best of others, according to the pros:
- It’s not too fatty. A little fat is correct and is expected almost every time you fme. But you want chicken to have the taste of chicken, not oil, developer of recipes of notes and author of Dina Deleasa Gonsar cooking books. Kelly Jaggers, author of Kitchen Books based in Texas, admits: “If fat flows on my fingers or there is a puddle at the bottom of the bucket, I am not interested.
- Frying oil is exchanged frequently. Speaking of this oil, it must be refreshed often. The old oil tends to have a hard bit bitter taste, can make the color of the food quite dark (so they seem almost burned) and can cause the greasy texture above.
- The meat has been jumping or marinated. Basically, fried chicken is a very simple dish, “so it is all the more important since each aspect of its preparation is perfect for the flavor and the texture to be perfect,” explains chef Jing Gao. “The chicken itself should be wet (sorry!), Juddy and well seasoned, enough so that you can say that the chicken has been properly marinated.” A brine is an appropriate alternative to ensure that meat remains juicy, adds Jaggers. (In case you have missed it, the brine involves dipping an ingredient in a salty solution to increase the retention of humidity inside. The goal with marnation is to add flavor and sensitivity to the surface.)
- The coating remains on – and ideally, is based on the flour rather than based on the dough. If you ask Jaggers, the coating must adhere to the chicken so that it does not slip before it is out of the bucket – or at each bite. “He should remain crisp even after being locked up and brought home too,” said Jaggers. If chief Dominic Iannarelli can be demanding, he tells us that the coating should be a spicy flour flour (like the rendering of chef John), not a dripping striker. The result should offer a seasoned, just healthy, exceptionally crisp and crisp, Gao and Smith bite agree.
- Chicken is the goal of the restaurant. When poultry is the main mission, you can taste the difference, Iannarelli believes. “Ideally, the fried chicken should be a very large part of their menu. No. “Well, we have burgers and submarines, and toasted this or that. The fried chicken of a certain kind should include 80% or more of the menu, let’s hope it. “”
The best fried fast food chicken, according to the chefs
If we expand the selection pool to include supermarkets, Publix Fried Chicken would have obtained several voices from our chefs. In fact, Splawn is a big fan whom she shared: “We served it at our wedding 14 years ago! And I still really like it for quick weekly dinners too. ”
For the purposes of this confrontation, we zoom in on the fried fast food chicken available at the national level, and with these parameters in place, the winner by a landslide is popeyes.
“Regarding the fried chicken with fast food, nobody does it better than Popeyes. They really nailed the salty, peppery and crisp coating, adored by this southern,” says Splawn. “In addition, the chicken popeyes is always juicy and tender, even the pieces of breast, which are often dry in places of fast food.” The humidity she talks about is probably due to the 12 -hour marinade whose brand boasts on its website.
Allrecipes / Debbie Wolfe
Iannarelli loves “the light cajun” influence “in the seasoning of the marinade and the coating, and Smith appreciates the fact that you can choose between classic or spicy And Opt for wings, breasts or thighs. Whatever the level of parts or spices you choose, “the crisp coating is thick but not too heavy,” says Smith. “It’s so tasty and the crisp is unbeatable.”
Gao echoes this feeling, noting that “the crust of Popeyes really makes it come out of the park. He has the most crisp bread that is never soggy, fat or sub-season. ” No wonder Popeyes also went out in mind during our team’s taste test.
Although Popeyes is the clear winner with four voices, some other restaurants deserve an honorable mention, according to our panelists. “There are so many channels that make an excellent fried chicken, and it really depends on what I am in mood one day given,” clarifies Gao.
The following finalists also offer quality, crunch, justice and flavor:
- KFC: The panel is solid here, but where the colonel really shines with his chicken. “It is well seasoned, juicy and so tasty,” explains Gao. These 11 herbs and spices really have an impact, and the low -temperature cooking process really preserves flavor and humidity.
- BB.Q chicken: With more than 3,500 locations worldwide, this Korean Frit Chicken Restaurant wins jaggers’ raves, which praises the fact that they double the chicken. “First of all, it is cooked at a lower temperature to ensure that the chicken is cooked and the crust is set. Then it is fried a second time at a higher temperature to reach a very crisp golden crust, ”explains Jaggers. The result is “a delicious, well seasoned, golden and more crunchy coating that adheres well to the chicken pieces”. One of the characteristics of the Korean fried chicken is the sauces – each piece is soaked in a sauce before being served. “You might think that the sauces would make the chicken soggy, but because of the double -thread technique, the sauces are unleashed so quickly and the chicken remains crisp.” In BB.Q chicken, your selection of sauce goes from soft honey garlic to “fire wings” or hot mala.
- Bonchon: This Korean fried chicken chain is developing in the United States (with nearly 150 stores in the United States and more than 300 in the world), and Gonsar is happy that this is the case. Applacing the uniform coating and the general flavor, it celebrates the fact that “the chicken is tender and well seasoned. You can taste the different spices used, and I like them to offer different signing sauce options to coat the crust. ”
What to eat with fried chicken at fast food
The chiefs tell us that the offers of side dishes of these best contenders are just as good. However, you don’t need to order everything on the menu to make a wonderful meal.
We love Splawn’s style: “If I take the fast food chicken, it’s almost always to feed my family of four people in a hurry, so I don’t even warm the chicken when we get home! I find that the option for the family chicken piece pack and some selected sides and partnerships with something like a big salad at home makes the taste of chicken even better.”
Consider salads and following DIY to build a budgetary and balanced meal:
