- KFC is debuting Pickle Fried Chicken next week.
- The dish is the latest flavor in KFC's extra-crispy chicken lineup and will be available for a limited time starting on June 25.
- Pickle Fried Chicken is a perfect pick for pickle lovers and manages to elevate a bizarre-sounding dish beyond a fast-food stunt.
KFC is adding a new type of chicken to the menu.
Next week, the chicken chain is launching Pickle Fried Chicken as a very-limited-time new menu item. The dish is a new take on the chain's extra-crispy chicken and is available as tenders or on a sandwich.
In April, KFC debuted the "Crispy Colonel," an extra-crispy chicken sandwich with mayo and pickles. The Crispy Colonel comes in four flavors in addition to the new pickle-flavored one: classic, Smoky Mountain BBQ, Nashville Hot, and Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ.
Business Insider had the opportunity to try the new pickle fried chicken prior to its official launch.
Pickle, unsurprisingly, reigns supreme in both the sandwich and the tenders. Impressively, the pickle flavor is bold and vinegar-tinged, instead of overwhelming the taste tester with sourness. KFC's extra-crispy chicken proves to be a worthy base, with its craggy crunch pairing well with the pickle-flavored sauce and pickle toppings.
Pickle Fried Chicken isn't perfect. The pickle-forward dish is extremely salty, to the detriment of the chicken. And, if left sitting for too long, the pickle sauce can soften some of the extra-crispy crunch.
Is KFC's Pickle Fried Chicken better than the chain's other options? Probably not.
While the Nashville Hot and Georgia Gold chicken managed to surpass KFC's original 11 herbs and spices, the pickle-flavored chicken isn't a major departure from the chain's original fried chicken. It is tasty — tastier than a marketing stunt needs to be — but it isn't a game changer for KFC.
If you're a pickle fan, Pickle Fried Chicken is a home run. And, as long as you aren't a pickle hater, it is still a solid chicken dish. Even skeptics, uncertain that pickle fried chicken could ever be an appealing flavor, said that the dish ended up being a pleasant surprise. However, few of Business Insider's taste testers were demanding Pickle Fried Chicken be added to the menu as a permanent item.
KFC is only serving pickle fried chicken for a very limited time this summer, starting on June 25 and lasting until supplies run out.
SEE ALSO: KFC is making an unprecedented move to take on Chick-fil-A and McDonald's
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