We are currently two and a half years into the Chicken Sandwich War. With all the hoopla surrounding Popeye’s entry into the chicken sandwich market in August 2019, directly challenging Chick-Fil-A’s market supremacy in that area, it has fallen under the radar that KFC fired the first salvo against Chick-Fil-A back in 2018. While Chick-Fil-A actually brines their chicken in pickle juice, KFC maintained their chicken preparation, as usual, and just slapped a new sauce on the chicken. Perhaps this half-measure is why they no longer offer the sandwich and are about to introduce a new chicken sandwich. Also, it should be noted that when I ate the sandwich, I thought it had a pickle brine, so great job on the ad campaign KFC!

KFC’s Pickle-Fried Chicken Sandwich is a fried chicken patty topped with pickle slices and a pickle sauce. The Pickle-Fried Chicken concept was also offered as tenders. Unfortunately, I don’t have price information on the sandwich or combo, but rest assured I did order a combo, and probably something else. This was almost three years ago, I can’t remember!

Taking the sandwich out of the wrapper, the first thing I noticed was a strong pickle smell, and it wasn’t from the pickles added to the sandwich. KFC really went over the top with that sauce and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t say the pickle aroma was off-putting, but it did catch me off-guard. The actual chicken patty looked substantial, like the size of the pieces used for the Double Down, and was bigger than the basic bun.

Upon biting the sandwich, the chicken itself was super juicy. It stood out from generic fast food chicken patties because it was so moist. At most fast food places, as long as the chicken isn’t dry, that’s a win, but KFC should be held to a higher standard and they cleared that bar.

The problem with the Pickle-Fried Chicken Sandwich though was that pickle sauce. I’d assumed they overdid the brine, but it was that sauce. I think it’s a situation where a little would have gone a long way. Looking back at the pictures, there was much more mayo than pickle sauce, but it was overwhelming. Way too strong on pickles, and I like pickles on sandwiches! The sandwich become overly tart and that was the main flavor I tasted as I ate.

Because the sandwich is meant to show off the chicken and that pickle sauce, KFC was sparse with the toppings. They added a few pickles, which from a flavor perspective were not needed because of the heavy pickle taste from the sauce.  They added a different texture, but I really didn’t need the extra pickle. Those pickles were probably a necessary addition, but some other crunch element or flavor to cut through the pickle really would have been great.

KFC also slathered the sandwich in mayo. I don’t believe that Chick-Fil-A adds mayo to their chicken sandwich, and regular readers will know that I’m not a mayo fan, so this may have been their method to differentiate the sandwich. I think they added way too much mayo, making the sandwich slippery. The bun also wasn’t very substantial and it had a hard time holding the chicken as I ate it.

While eating the sandwich, the chicken maintained its crunch, and as I mentioned above, it was a large piece of chicken, so it was filling. However, the sauce created a weird aftertaste and the toppings did nothing to cut through that taste because the pickles only added to it and the mayo isn’t adding much flavor. I think the sandwich would be better served with some sort of heat element to add another flavor. Swapping out the mayo for a chipotle sauce or remoulade would have been a good idea. Or keeping the pickle theme but tossing on pickled jalapeños instead would also work. Even tossing on some lettuce to dilute the pickle taste could have worked.

However, as it stands, this particular sandwich does not beat the Chick-Fil-A version and I don’t think it’s something I’d order again as the main part of my meal. KFC has experimented with different flavor vehicles for its chicken through the years (see my Nashville Hot and Georgia Gold reviews), and there’s a reason this one didn’t stick around. Fast food has stepped up its chicken sandwich game and this variation had no chance to compete with the industry’s best offerings.