Taste Test: KFC's Kentucky Grilled Chicken

There's a new chicken in town. Surprisingly, it's from an old poultry purveyor: KFC.

KFC's latest addition to the menu, grilled chicken, piqued our interest for several reasons. First, it's certainly healthier than its fried cousin with about half the calories and sodium per portion. Second, it's up against a lot of grilled chicken competition from other fast-food chains. And third, it just might be something we'd eat on the run, on road trips, or for a quick bite (yes, even Epicurious editors sometimes have to veer from healthy homemade fare). So we decided to conduct a blind taste test examining appearance, flavor, and texture.

Taste Test Procedure
Our editors purchased grilled chicken--in whatever form was available, including grilled chicken sandwiches--from four other major vendors. The contestants included McDonald's Premium Chicken Sandwich, Wendy's Ultimate Chicken Grill, Burger King's TenderGrill Chicken Sandwich, and Ranch 1's Ranch Classic. All samples were purchased at the same time, within blocks of one another, to keep the products at their hottest and freshest.

The Winner
KFC stood out in the flock from the start. All the pieces, ranging from the breast to the chicken wing, had a nice golden charbroiled color, and grill marks, giving the impression that it had just come off the grill. The competition was largely flat, yellow, and rubbery. KFC's meat was reasonably tender and juicy, and the skin actually had flavor thanks to the Colonel's six "secret" herbs and spices. Though the bucket costs $12.99, it is actually the best value of the bunch; there are six large pieces, enough to share with several people.

"Look's like chicken that I would choose to eat," said one editor. "Both the skin and the white meat are moist and well salted," said another. "Not rubbery at all; it breaks apart naturally like rotisserie chicken," chimed a third editor.

Second and Third Place
The runner-up was the Ranch 1's classic sandwich. Though the breast meat did not appear as plump and moist as KFC's sample, its natural white-meat coloring, and visible grill marks, had all the editors eager to try it. "This chicken has a nice peppery marinade," stated one taster. "I like its texture; it doesn't appear to be reconstituted like the others," said another.

Burger King's TenderGrill Chicken took third place thanks to its non-rubbery texture, but it still did not compare to our top pick. All tasters felt that there was a striking resemblance in shape and color between the options from Burger King, McDonald's, and Wendy's. One editor said it best: "These look like the plastic food that came with my childhood kitchen."