Chick-fil-A is known for having some of the best chicken sandwiches in the fast food industry. Their chicken sandwiches consistently receive high ratings for their juicy and flavorful chicken breast filets. So what is the secret behind Chick-fil-A’s incredibly tasty chicken sandwiches?
Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Breast Filets
The star of Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwiches is undoubtedly their chicken breast filet. Chick-fil-A only uses whole, boneless chicken breasts for their filets – no fillers or extra additives. They slice the breasts into filets and then marinate them in a brine solution.
The brine helps keep the chicken moist and flavorful. It contains just a few simple ingredients like salt, sugar, spices, and sometimes buttermilk. After brining, the chicken filets are hand-breaded and pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil.
Chick-fil-A sources their chicken from suppliers in the USA who raise chickens specifically for the restaurant. They have strict quality standards to ensure the chickens are healthy, humanely raised, and fed a vegetarian diet free of animal by-products.
Key Facts About Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Filets
- Made from whole, boneless chicken breasts – no fillers
- Marinated in a simple brine solution
- Hand-breaded and pressure cooked in peanut oil
- Sourced from US suppliers with strict standards
The Breading
In addition to the brined chicken breast, the signature Chick-fil-A breading plays a major role in giving their sandwiches great crunch and flavor. Their breading contains just a few simple ingredients:
- Flour – provides structure and crunch
- Salt – enhances overall flavor
- Spices – add flavor like black pepper
- Seasoning – likely contains paprika, garlic, etc.
- Peanut oil – helps the breading stick and adds flavor
The exact spice blend remains a company secret. After dredging in the seasoned flour mixture, the filets are hand-breaded by restaurant employees. The human touch helps ensure each filet has a consistent, even coating from edge to edge.
Key Facts About Chick-fil-A’s Breading
- Simple blend of flour, salt, spices, and seasoning
- Hand-breaded for even coverage
- Crunchy texture and savory flavor
- Peanut oil helps it stick and adds flavor
The Cooking Process
Chick-fil-A doesn’t just fry their chicken in oil, they use a specialized high-pressure cooking technique to cook the breaded filets. Each restaurant location has a large high-pressure fryer known as the “Pressure Fryer XL.”
ThePressure Fryer XL uses radiant heat technology to rapidly cook food under pressure. The chicken filets are lowered into hot peanut oil where the pressure allows the temperature to rise above 400°F.
This high heat helps the breading develop a perfectly crispy texture. The pressure also allows the heat to penetrate into the meat, cooking it thoroughly in just 4-5 minutes. The result is a juicy chicken breast encased in a crispy, savory coating.
Benefits of Chick-fil-A’s Pressure Fryers
- Cooks chicken rapidly and thoroughly
- Achieves crispy breading at high heat
- Preserves moisture in the chicken breast
- Adds peanuty flavor from hot peanut oil
The Buns
Of course, a great chicken sandwich needs a great bun to hold it all together. Chick-fil-A bakes their buns fresh on site every day at each restaurant. They use a classic bun recipe with just a few simple ingredients:
- Enriched bleached flour – gives structure and softness
- Water – necessary for dough cohesion
- Yeast – allows the buns to rise
- Salt – enhances flavor
- Sugar – food for the yeast and added sweetness
- Butter – adds rich flavor and softness
- Egg – gives color, texture, and richness
The buns have a slightly sweet, buttery taste that perfectly complements the chicken filet and helps balance the other sandwich ingredients. They have a soft interior with a toasted exterior, providing the ideal burger bun texture.
Key Attributes of Chick-fil-A’s Buns
- Made fresh daily from a simple recipe
- Soft interior and toasted exterior
- Sweet, buttery, eggy flavor
- Holds up well to juicy fillings
- Ideal size and shape for sandwiches
The Pickles
No chicken sandwich is complete without tangy dill pickle chips. Chick-fil-A uses only whole, sliced dill pickles on their sandwiches. The pickles add a satisfying crunch and a burst of briny, sour flavor that cuts through the richness of the chicken and bun.
Chick-fil-A likely sources their pickles from a major pickle producer like Mt. Olive or Van Holten’s. They select pickles with a notably strong dill and garlic flavor. Each batch is tested to ensure optimal crunch and juiciness.
Characteristics of Chick-fil-A’s Pickle Chips
- Whole, sliced dill pickles
- Crunchy texture
- Strong dill and garlic taste
- Sour and tangy briny flavor
- Provides contrast to chicken and bun
Signature Sauces
A great sauce can take a chicken sandwich from good to legendary. Chick-fil-A offers several signature dipping sauces that add even more flavor and moisture:
Chick-fil-A Sauce
This creamy, tangy special sauce has a cult following. It’s made with:
- Barbecue sauce – smoky, sweet base
- Honey mustard – tangy, mustardy flavor
- Ranch – cool, creamy component
- Lemon juice – bright, fresh acidity
Customers love this sauce for its complex blend of flavors. It’s slightly sweet, tangy, savory, and creamy all at once.
Polynesian Sauce
This tropical fruit-based sauce combines:
- Sweet and sour sauce – fruity flavor
- Pineapple – tropical fruit taste
- Brown sugar – deep caramelized sweetness
- Soy sauce – savory, salty accent
The Polynesian sauce is both sweet and acidic, with delicious fruity notes. It pairs especially well with chicken.
Other Sauces
Chick-fil-A also offers other flavors like Barbecue, Honey Mustard, Garden Herb Ranch, and Zesty Buffalo sauce. Guests can choose whichever sauce best fits their tastes. The sauces add moisture, flavor-enhancing condiments to an already amazing chicken sandwich.
The Final Product
When you combine juicy marinated chicken, crispy hot breading, sweet eggy buns, tangy pickles, and signature sauces, you get a heavenly chicken sandwich experience. Chick-fil-A has mastered the recipe and process for making their famous chicken sandwiches.
Key factors that set their sandwiches apart include:
- High-quality whole chicken breast meat
- Marinating and brining for juiciness
- Hand-breaded for consistency
- Pressure-fried for crispy exterior
- Freshly baked buns
- Strong, garlicky pickles
- Craveable signature sauces
These components all come together to make a chicken sandwich that keeps customers coming back again and again. Chick-fil-A has found the winning formula for chicken sandwich perfection.
Nutrition Information
Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwiches provide a relatively nutritious fast food meal, especially when ordered without sugary sodas and fries. Below are the nutrition facts for their Original Chicken Sandwich based on a standard serving size of one sandwich (221g).
| Nutrition Facts | Amount | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 440 | 22% |
| Total Fat | 19g | 29% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Trans Fat | 0.5g | – |
| Cholesterol | 70mg | 23% |
| Sodium | 1410mg | 61% |
| Total Carbohydrates | 41g | 14% |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Protein | 28g | – |
The sandwich provides a good amount of protein and fairly low carbs when avoiding sugary drinks and fries. The trans and saturated fats are quite low for fast food. Where it falters a bit is in sodium content, providing over half of the daily recommended value.
Overall, the Original Chicken Sandwich is one of the healthier fast food options out there, especially when paired with a salad and water. Just be mindful of the high sodium level.
Conclusion
Chick-fil-A’s signature chicken sandwiches earn their reputation for having the best fast food chicken. Their carefully crafted recipe utilizes premium ingredients like whole breast chicken, hand-breaded fillets, freshly baked buns, and tangy pickles. Their specialized cooking process helps the chicken come out tender, moist, and crispy every time. Topped with crave-worthy sauces, the sandwiches have a one-of-a-kind taste and texture. While reasonably healthy for fast food, customers should be aware of the high sodium content. When it comes to fabulous chicken flavor, Chick-fil-A sandwiches have the fast food industry clucked.