As the chicken sandwich wars escalate (with even taco joints trying to muscle their way in), Burger King decided to up their game with the new Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich which joins the other poultry items already on the menu (with the national rollout, they have tweaked the name to Ch’King Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich). This one is obviously a salvo in the direction of Popeye’s to draw customers away from that popular chicken-slinger (whereas the new McDonald’s Chicken Sandwich is trying to lure people away from the drive thru line wrapped around Chick Fil A). It comes in a spicy version which is what I sampled for this review.
According to the King, this new sammie features a “thick cut white meat chicken breast that is freshly breaded by hand for a bite that is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside”. And I will give it to them, that is definitely a thick piece of poultry that stacks up nicely to the Popeye’s version and makes this a filling sandwich. It has a good ratio of meat to breading unlike their regular spicy chicken which is a thinner filet that does not fully fill out the bun.
That breading on the new spicy chicken sandwich has a nice crunch and is seasoned quite well. The meat is tender and rather juicy, and quite tasty. I can’t tell if they marinated it like Popeye’s does, but there is plenty of flavor. There is a bit of sweetness that comes from the spicy sauce, but it is not cloying and adds a nice counterbalance to the other parts of the sandwich. They also throw on pickles that add the requisite tang. You can get lettuce and tomato added, but I decided to stick with the sandwich as advertised. The potato bun holds it all together nicely but is otherwise unremarkable. At least it was not all crumbly like when I got their regular spicy chicken a month or so back.
The spicy hand-breaded sandwich did deliver some heat, but as you would expect from the drive thru, nothing that would set your mouth aflame. The regular spicy chicken clocks in at around a mild heat level, whereas the newbie approaches medium heat. It is not quite like a Nashville Hot chicken as the picture suggests (this one is not drenched in sauce). But it has a good kick and this is a heat that lingers. The regular spicy chicken I would rank as above average for fast food fare, whereas the hand-breaded version counts as a true standout. Maybe not quite as good as Popeye’s Spicy Chicken (though I have not done a side-by-side comparison), but a strong competitor.
Just make sure you are wearing your eating pants when picking one of these up, because the sandwich alone tips the scale at 950 calories. And if you add on a medium order of fries that’s another 383 calories down your gullet. Better get that diet drink or just water to wash it down. By comparison, Popeye’s spicy chicken comes in at 700 calories, which is still pretty high for a drive thru sammie. You might be able to save a few cals by holding the spicy sauce, but that really goes well with the sandwich. Just keep this to an occasional indulgence and plan on having a small salad as you next meal.
Burger King has not been advertising the Spicy Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich too heavily and it may not be available in all areas. There is actually a chicken shortage these days caused in part by the fast food wars that are currently going on. I’m also not certain if this is a limited-time-only option or if it is auditioning to take a place on the permanent menu and possibly replace the regular chicken sandwich. Seeing as BK also has its original chicken sandwich (which is the ground chicken, not a whole breast filet), seems like one of these might be getting kicked off the menu at some point. But for now, it is definitely worth your while to check out the new spicy hand-breaded offering while it is still available. (How about adding it to the permanent menu and dropping that creepy king mascot?)
Tale of the Tape:
Serving Size: 1 Sandwich
Calories: 950
Fat: 59g (11g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 33g
Carbs: 72g
Sodium: 970mg