Ranking Fast Food Fried Chicken Sandwiches From Worst To First

Yes, you really can find a great

fried

chicken

sandwich at a

fast

food

drive-thru. However, not all

fast

food

fried

chicken

sandwiches

are created equal...so there was only one thing to do. We ate them all. Here are the results. Checkers' Big Chicken sandwich puts all the emphasis where it counts; that is, on a quarter-pound of fried chicken breast, served simply with shredded lettuce and mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun. Unfortunately, most of the good news ends there. For all the promotion of the pre-cooked weight of processed chicken fillet, there isn't much in the way of fattiness or moisture, with a soggy, almost flavorless breading.

If there isn't a Jack In The Box in your area, the only thing you might know about them is that they have a strange clown mascot named Jack. Their menu is quite extensive and they offer a variety of chicken

sandwiches

, including a plain one. “Simple” is almost spot on; As for a chicken sandwich, it's fine. It's just lettuce and mayonnaise on a bun, nothing special. If you're looking for a cheap chicken sandwich and there's a Jack In The Box on your side of the road, it will work. But you don't want to cross traffic to eat this.

Burger King's Crispy Chicken Sandwich is a simple, basic return to the classics, featuring a breaded chicken fillet, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on a soft potato roll. Unfortunately, what should be a reaffirmation of the lasting power of the classics ends up being mostly a failure. While the chicken fillet itself is reasonably crispy, most of the chopped lettuce pieces end up in your lap and wedged in the crevices of the car seat, and the tomato is a depressing, colorless slab that offers nothing in terms of flavor. It's hard to compete with Sonic Drive-In. The chain continues to offer solid versions of the drive-in classic, at low prices and with friendly service.

This tradition primarily continues with the classic crispy chicken sandwich, with a few caveats. The classic crispy chicken sandwich is served the traditional way, with lettuce, sliced ​​tomato and mayonnaise. The chicken remains crispy, although it tends to be underseasoned. Our biggest quibble is the overall dryness of the sandwich. It's a good thing they have over a million drink options... Burger Fi is a new kid on the block, so to speak, and prides itself on its fresh ingredients. In 2018, they introduced chicken to their menu. The standard comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and honey mustard barbecue sauce. The chicken is advertised as free-range and they really emphasize how good that makes it taste.

The big problem is that chicken is basically flavorless. Honey mustard doesn't help this much, so you really need the lettuce and tomato for flavor. After all, it's called Burger Fi, not Chicken Fi; stick with the burgers. Depending on where you are in the US, you will either have a Hardee's or a Carl's Jr. in your area, or you will have neither. Anyway, the chicken at both places is the same chicken; It comes from the same place and the tastes are the same. It is the same species of bird. It's not very tasty, but it's also quite edible with a mild hint of spice and moist chicken;

It's just... big. Too big. Bojangles offers some fancy chicken sandwiches, but the standard is the Cajun steak sandwich. The sandwich is prepared with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Chicken is Bojangles' signature savory dish, always worth the drive. The problem here is the bun: it's a big bun and it detracts from the chicken. Bojangles makes great chicken, but you'd better eat it with a biscuit. Zaxby's specializes in chicken wings, but also offers a couple of traditional chicken sandwiches if you're so inclined. For our purposes, we'll focus on the old Southern TLC sandwich. It's the most traditional "Southern home style" possible: just lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

It's quite disappointing and is best served with another sandwich or just mounting those chicken wings. "Most people still think Arby's still only serves roast beef sandwiches. If that's the case, we sure have some weird-looking roast beef sandwiches." Arby's made its entry into the "buttermilk" fried crispy chicken sandwich trend in 2016, with the introduction of the buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich. It features a meaty buttermilk-marinated fried chicken filet, topped with shredded lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, on Arby's signature "Star Cut" bun. The chicken itself is a bit disappointing; Too dry, lacking flavor. Located at the upper end of McDonald's value menu price range, the Classic Chicken Sandwich appears to be a direct hit at rival Chick-fil-A's continued success and expansion.

The sandwich strips out all the unnecessary components, offering a giant hunk of fried chicken that overwhelms and destroys the bread it sits on, with a handful of pickle slices and a new "signature sauce." Still, the chicken tender itself is generously portioned and the "signature sauce" complements rather than overpowers and adds a satisfying mess to the proceedings. For many years, Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich was the gold standard of what a self-service chicken sandwich could be. But with the temperature rising in the chicken sandwich space, could Wendy's keep up with the new field of competitors? The chicken here is thinner than many of the other sandwiches on the market, but it doesn't compromise on flavor.

That familiar Wendy's spiciness is still there and it still seems the most balanced of many of the sandwiches out there. If you've never been to Culver's, you should find one. Culver's makes their bread and butter with... butter burgers. But they also offer a tasty chicken sandwich. The crispy chicken sandwich belongs to the "Southern style" family. Culver's standard toppings aren't what you'd expect: You get lettuce, tomato, and pickles, but no mayo, mustard, or secret sauce. Yet somehow you won't even miss it. You're not thinking about chicken when you go to Culver's, but this is a great and unexpected chicken sandwich.

Have you heard of PDQ? You'll. They're one of the places to watch when it comes to quick service, as the Tampa-based chain is expanding nationwide thanks to tasty chicken. PDQ's standard sandwich is the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, featuring crispy fried chicken served with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and pickles. The reason PDQ is spreading is because their chicken is absolutely excellent. It's hard to go somewhere and not get the specialty. Raising Cane's is a chicken joint, and if your eyes never ventured to the sandwich portion of the board, we can't blame you. Cane's chicken is just good. But what if we eat it between two rolls?

Despite their incredible chicken, they know that the sauce rules. The standard chicken sandwich is just three chicken fingers on a bun with lettuce, but the trick is that they go ahead and put the sauce on there. Sometimes it's that simple: don't reinvent chicken finger, just throw it on a bun and enjoy! KFC has maintained a legacy of crispy, pressure-fried chicken excellence for more than 70 years, and its version of the fried chicken sandwich helps demonstrate why. The chicken itself is the star of the show here: it's thick, juicy, and intensely flavorful. "Shhh, just listen now" But where KFC really starts to outshine its competitors is in the area of ​​dipping sauces: Whether sweet and smoky or hot and spicy is your preferred complementary chicken flavor, KFC offers a variety of options on a fried chicken sandwich.

That puts the chicken in the spotlight, where it belongs. Now that's chicken you can count on. Shake Shack has exploded in recent years, based on a simple concept: elevate classic fast food to its highest possible potential and turn it around quickly to keep the line moving. With Chick'n Shack the tradition continues. Despite its enormous size, the chicken remains incredibly crispy and is complemented by Shake Shack's herb mayonnaise. As with much of Shake Shack's menu, Chick'n Shack is a perfect example of what even a simple chicken sandwich can be, when you take the time to balance the different elements and source good ingredients.

Chick-fil-A uses many extra touches to deliver a delicious sandwich. If you really look at the ingredients, you might be surprised to see vinegar listed – that's the secret. It's a scientific trick that tells your brain that the food you're eating is bright and fresh. That perfect fried deliciousness is the result of pressure cooking, which also speeds up the process and gets fresh chicken out faster. The crazy thing is that it is very simple. It's just bread, chicken, and that little surprise: two unexpected pickles hidden beneath the chicken that give it a slightly more bitter crunch. The sheer simplicity is what takes it to a whole new level.