The culinary earthly concern is one of mystery , machination and secret spice . Take thefried chickensandwich . By the looks of it , there should n’t be anything remotely controversial about such a simple sandwich of breadstuff , chicken and toppings .
But instead there ’s a warfare that ’s been cod over who has the best in this battle of the burgers , ahem , sandwiches . Burger King introduced its newCh’Kingsandwich — a direct rival to Popeyes ' fried poulet sandwich June 3 , heating up the chicken sandwich wars yet again . Even Pringles announceda partnership with Wendy ’s to turn its blue chicken sandwich into a unexampled limited - edition Pringle look . Who ’s next ? Taco Bell ? Too late . The chain already offer a Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco . How did we get here ?
Who’s the First?
There have been a lot of rumors swirling around the stemma of the first profligate food electrocute poulet sandwich . Most believe the honour go to a guy namedTruett Cathy , who in 1946 stick to a piece of volaille between two hamburger can and called it Chick - fil - a. This cute , but regrettably all uncorroborated , claim assure a nice taradiddle , but it ’s now wide consider as merchandising propaganda . Fun story , though !
no matter of its origins , a poulet sandwich — whether it be fried , grill or chopped — is a fast food staple fiber that ’s recently exploded in popularity since the 2019 drop ofPopeyes now famous fried chicken sandwich .
Not only did Popeyes ' new fare quickly make the rounds on social media , it also garnered the attention ofYouTubersand word publications likeTime — who articulate the sandwich lived up to the hype . Because of its popularity , Popeyes consider a whopping 38 percent spike in same store sale as reported during the fourth quarter of 2019 , recontextualizing the unproblematic four - ingredient sandwich as a cash cow ( chicken ? ) . by nature , other brands wanted in on the natural process and so began the firm nutrient fried volaille wars .
The Best Beef Begins on Twitter
Widely moot the possible action snapshot of state of war was an interaction on Twitter between Popeyes and Chick - fil - A when the latter released a suspiciously well - timed tweet touting erotic love for its chicken sandwich . Popeyes commented on the brand ’s celebratory tweet with the notorious " … y' all right ? " , signaling to Chik - fil - A that the Louisiana chain was onto them .
concord to HuffPost , Google searches for " Popeyes chicken sandwich " rocket nearly 1,000 percentage after the wry tweet , opening the proverbial floodgates for a new epoch of fast nutrient . presently , the debate started making the troll , prompt this genesis ’s fast - food version of Letterman versus Leno : Who made the best volaille sandwich ? Popeyes or Chick - fil - A ? But the fun did n’t hold on there .
" The media really branded it a state of war , " saysRestaurant Business & FoodService Directorsenior editor , Pat Cobe . " Now every chain that enters is adopting that shred . But I think it ’s longer lasting than a encounter . There are now over 30 chains that are vying for ' chicken sandwich supremacy , ' and new entries are coming on the grocery almost every hebdomad . Most strain to differentiate their sandwich with a signature tune sauce or ' script - crafted ' breading , but the basic elements are the same : a breaded chicken breast fillet , fried crispy and transcend with pickles and mayo or a sauce on a brioche bun or potato roll . Some strand do two versions : a classic and savoury , like Nashville Hot . "
By January 2021 , it’sestimatedthat more than two 12 profligate solid food chain had their own reading of the deep-fried chicken sandwich — fromKFC ’s double - breaded spare - crispy chicken filletto Shake Shack ’s Korean - style Fried Chick’n Sandwich . It was n’t too long before some of the other fast food heavyweight would notice .
McDonald’s Gets in on the McGame
Enter McDonald’sCrispy Chicken Sandwich . In February 2021 , the renowned Warren E. Burger joint bet it all on a fresh sandwich that would make the McChicken look like McGarbage .
A February 2021 news report in The New York Timesspoke about McDonald ’s contribution to the fried volaille state of war , calling this current affray " the furious food for thought - world fights in late eld . " deep-fried chicken sandwiches were the second most request item onDoorDash(just behind crybaby finger ) , with an estimated 65 percent of the U.S. universe having order a breaded chicken sandwichin the last six months .
Back in 2019 and 2020 , it was n’t just an influx of luscious sandwich fuel this gruesome battle for blank meat supremacy , but rather a decline in thebeef industriousness promptedby coronavirus as well as a spiked interest in chicken .
" Fried chicken is the ultimate comfort food for thought , " Cobe tell , " and that ’s what consumer were search during the pandemic . Plus , Gallus gallus sandwiches are portable , delivery - friendly and comparatively inexpensive . All these attribute bestow up to their popularity . But the increase in need by eating house and consumers is push wimp prices up , specially with boob and wing , and shit it hard to discover provision . "
Cobe also enunciate both Popeyes and Chick - fil - A have a mitt in raising the popularity of fried chicken as well as the so - called war .
" Chick - fil - A was really the first out with a premium fried chicken sandwich , " Cobe say . " It ’s been on the menu for year , so it ’s a tossup between that chain or Popeyes for ownership , but the current war was definitely start by Popeyes . It created a lot of buzz on societal medium , stimulate long lines to form extraneous locations , and sell out in several areas . Meanwhile , other chains had been work on their own upgrades , let in KFC and McDonald ’s , but Popeyes was first out of the gate . "
With brand after brand releasing sandwich after sandwich , it ’s hard to know when this state of war will finish . At the very least , we ’ll have hatful of delectable fried poulet sandwiches to snack on while we watch out the action .
