Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Meatless Fried Chicken

Which came first, the chicken or the pea?

KFC just started selling meatless fried chicken. Yes, fried chicken made without chicken. It's made from plants, primarily peas. When I told Robin about it, she laughed and laughed; she was sure I was joking and couldn't wrap her head around the idea of faux fried chicken.

I stopped by today and tried 'em. Remarkable. You would assume they're chicken if you weren't told they're not. The outer coating is identical to normal fried chicken; the "meat" inside tastes like chicken; and most important of all, they have the texture and "mouth-feel" of fried chicken. Quite an achievement.

They come with a choice of five different dipping sauces: "KFC Sauce" (a sweet, mild mustard flavor); Classic Ranch; Honey BBQ; Hot sauce; and Honey Mustard.

A single-person serving of six pieces is $7.99. They're called "Beyond Fried Chicken" (BFC) because they use Beyond Meat patties. You'll soon be able to get the patties in supermarkets for cooking at home.

25 comments:

  1. Anything tastes like fried chicken when it's fried like chicken. :-)

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    1. Yes, it's easy to imitate the taste; what's hard is replicating the texture.

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  2. I've seen these advertised up here in Canada, but I don't eat at KFC. A deepfried, heavily salted Beyond Meat anything is still deepfried and heavily salted. Add in the high sugar/fat content of the dipping sauces...still not a healthy choice overall. A fun treat, though! I'd try them.

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    1. You're right that they're not healthy. Nor, given the way their made (in the same frying fat as regular chicken) are they truly vegan or vegetarian. Even the advertisements for them say they aren't really vegan or vegetarian.

      I tried them as a novelty and would, if at KFC, order them instead of real chicken. Just not often.

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  3. I know they've had these meat replacements for years (Quorn & Morningstar are a couple of brands) but Beyond Meats have really stepped it up to look and taste like real meat so I guess that's what's turning the tide to more mainstream availability.

    Personally, I hate the Beyond Burgers (everyone I know loves them though) even though I love tofu and tempeh and all that.

    They aren't particularly healthy either but it's great to have options if you're vegetarian or just want to eat less meat for whatever reasons.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. You're right and I agree (as a mostly-vegetarian over the last 40 years). I prefer Impossible Burgers to Beyond Meat and recognize that neither is really healthy. I see these products as mid-points to wean meat-eaters off excessive amounts of meat in their diet.

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  4. Interesting. Glad to hear your review.

    I've tried both beyond and impossible burgers because I am intrigued by the science of it. My mom would try meat substitutes back in the 90s and fix tofu and other nonmeat options to keep our palettes open.

    Sadly both beyond and impossible plant-meats really disagree with my stomach and digestion. Likely due to the processed nature of it.

    But i will say the impossible white castles tasted just like normal white castles.

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    1. True and I have the same experience with digestion. Funny story: the first time I ordered an Impossible Slider at White Caste, I told the cashier she must have made a mistake because I was convinced they gave me a real meat one. It looked so real!

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  5. OOooh, yummy!!! I'd love to try them! I really like the sound of them and I love KFC and rarely eat it but it would be so nice to get to try a meat-free version! I'll bet we don't have it in the UK- they had the vegan burger though...

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    1. Check their website to see if they're expanding to Europe. I'd predict they will because there are more vegetarians where you live than here.

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  6. Not seen these in the KFC's in the UK, but there's a growing range of meat replacements. Good news for veg heads 🙂

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    1. It's also good news for average meat-eaters who eat too much meat. Like the Impossible Burger, this product gives them an alternative to eat less meat without losing the taste/experience.

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  7. I'm sure they could taste nice, but I simply cannot understand why vegetarians and vegans feel the need to eat things which is made to resemble meat! xxx

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    1. Most don't! And, in fact, when "mock meats" were first developed in the 1980s, vegetarians hated them because most dislike the similarity to meat. Research shows these products are made, marketed and sold to normal meat-eaters to lessen the frequency of their meat-eating, a change that would be good for their health, the environment and animals.

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  8. Funny, my son recently was hired by a local start up called Rebellyous Foods and they make plant based chicken products, including nuggets. They also make the machine parts there which are used in the equipment to make this food too. Interesting, they recently got a contract with the local school district so those kids have an option with their nuggets!

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    1. Good work! I applaud all helping to move away from meat. Our environment, health and animals need us to eat less meat.

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  9. I'll have to look out for this, it will be interesting to see how it compares to chicken. I've tried a few meat free products in the past and whilst some have been good others have been a poor substitute.

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    1. Very true; most are disappointing. This product excels at the job it attempts.

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  10. We have a new KFC across from us. I wonder if they have this product. Will have to do some research! Coincidentally I have just posted a KFC poem on my blog. Ha!
    XO Jazzy Jack

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    1. Yay! I’m back making comments! I got in finally by using Chrome instead of Safari (if anyone else is having issues). JJ

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  11. I would DEFINITELY buy this! I'm not a vegetarian, but I realize I'm shifting that way because sometimes meat can gross me out. Especially meat on the bone! But this, this I can do!

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  12. I don't eat fast food, never did...but it is always good to have vegetarian options. I'm not very keen on meat.

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