Today, we review KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)’s Popcorn Chicken. Popcorn Chicken is a menu item that KFC first introduced in 1992. It is essentially deep-fried white-meat chicken nuggets. Because they are small and each nugget has a unique size, it got the name Popcorn Chicken. Popcorn Chicken was a popular menu item for many years before it was discontinued in 2023. The decision came as a surprise to many, as it was one of the more favored items on the menu. Some speculate that KFC chose to discontinue it to promote its Original Recipe Chicken Nuggets instead. Popcorn Chicken had a loyal following, which is why KFC has recently decided to bring it back to the menu.
Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, who in 1930 began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders understood the concept of franchising early on. The first Kentucky Fried Chicken opened in South Salt Lake in 1952. With over 31,980 locations globally in 150 countries, Kentucky Fried Chicken is the second largest food chain in terms of sales in the world. The menu today is still very chicken-centric, and there are a good number of side dishes available.
Kentucky Fried Chicken took the name of KFC in 1991, but lately there has been a movement to go back to the Kentucky Fried Chicken name,
The Construction
The preparation is straightforward. It starts with white meat chicken that is marinated, then breaded and battered with seasoning. It is served with a choice of dipping sauces.
- Marinated White Meat Chicken (15 – Various sizes)
- Seasoned breading and battering
- Size: 6 ounces
- Dipping Sauce: Honey BBQ (selected)
- Length: n/a (varies per chicken piece)
- Weight: 5 ounces, including the box, but not the sauce
- Location Purchased: Indian Trail, North Carolina
- Price: $4.99
- Amount Ordered: 2 6-ounce Popcorn Chickena
KFC offers various sauces. Below is a list of them, but I chose Honey BBQ. While it may not be my favorite BBQ sauce, I selected a safe option since I dislike anything with mayonnaise.
- Buffalo Ranch
- Classic Ranch
- Comeback Sauce
- Lobo’s Wild Ranch
- Honey BBQ
- Honey Mustard
- KFC Sauce
- Honey BBQ Sauce
- Honey Mustard
- Ruthye’s Sweet Chili Revenge
- Sticky Chicky Sweet ‘n Sour Sauce
- Supergirl’s Solar Honey Mustard
Weight Comparison
The KFC Popcorn Chicken was advertised as 6 ounces. I weighed the actual nuggets and the box, and it came in at the 5-ounce mark. I’m not sure if the 6 ounces included the sauce. It is worth noting I ordered it with the Honey BBQ sauce and both times I had to go back and get the sauce.
The Appearance (*)
If we were comparing the actual chicken itself, this would have scored really well. The problem is the staged photo makes it look like the 6-ounce popcorn chicken is overflowing with chicken inside. This really isn’t the case. There are 15 chicken pieces (of different shapes and sizes), and they don’t come close to reaching the top.
The amount of chicken in the box compared to the staged photo knocked down this appearance assessment rating to Fair (at best). I gave credit to the chicken itself looking comparable.
Comparison Rating: Fair
The Experience
The scoring algorithm used for the Popcorn Chicken is similar to what was used on Bojangles Bo Bites.
- Chicken: 5 points
- Breading/Battering: 2 points
- Dipping Sauce: 1 point
- Intangibles: 2 points
Chicken
As mentioned, the chicken used on the Popcorn Chicken is white meat chicken breast cut into small chunks. Each piece was moist and tender. There is a nice savory component to this chicken. Even without the breading on, you can tell the marinade has enhanced the flavor, yet still accentuates the actual flavor of the chicken.
Score: 3.50 out of 5.00 points
Breading
As mentioned, the Popcorn Chicken is both breaded and battered before being deep fried. According to the ingredients, both are flour-based. There, I found the Popcorn Chicken to be crispier and thicker than Original Recipe, but not as crispy and definitely thinner than Extra Crispy. As for the seasonings, KFC has traditionally kept this a secret, but I could definitely pick up herbs, garlic,c and pepper components.
Score: 1.75 out of 2.00 points
Honey BBQ Sauce
This sauce combines smoky BBQ flavors with a hint of sweetness from honey. What I appreciate about it is that the honey complements the smoky notes without overpowering them. While it is a decent pre-packaged BBQ sauce, I wouldn’t rate it higher than average.
Score: 0.50 points of 1.00 points
Intangibles
First up, I always look at whether the overall experience exceeds the sum of the parts. This one gets an absolute yes. The combination of very good chicken with very good breading works really well. Dunking them in the Honey BBQ sauce is an absolute flavor enhancer.
This item is also not messy, which is a positive aspect.
The negative goes back to the weight comparison. The amount of chicken I got was definitely under 6 ounces. On top of that, while I understand KFC tried to keep the price point under $5.00, I still would have filled the box to the top. I would have paid a little more for this. The “6 ounce” option didn’t quite fill me up, but the good news is that there are combo options or even an option for a $10.00 Popcorn Chicken Bucket.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
It has been many years since I have had the KFC Popcorn Chicken, but I can see why they have brought it back. This is a really good offering – it brings some really good chicken with some really good breading. On top of that,t I found the Honey BBQ Sauce worked, but it also has me curious enough to try some of the other sauces. It was also nice to have a fried chicken offering that was not greasy. This could have scored even higher if it were not for the weight discrepancy. In the end, at $4.99, this menu offering punches way above its weight class. This is easily an above average offering from a chain and something I would easily return to.
Summary
| Chicken (5) | 3.50 |
| Breading (2) | 1.75 |
| Honey BBQ Sauce (1) | 0.50 |
| Intangibles (2) | 1.25 |
| Total | 7.00 |
Score: 7.00 (out of 10 points)
Value: Above Average
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted
* Not scored in the overall numeric assessment rating.
