Remember Kentucky Roast Beef? How about those ads where people thought they ate the bones? Chicken
that was "pickle fried"? Keep watching to see some of KFC's wildest experiments over the years.
KFC got in on the value meal action in 2005 with the introduction of the KFC Snacker.
A small sandwich, consisting of an Extra Crispy strip on a sesame
seed bun topped with lettuce and mayonnaise. It cost just 99 cents,
and became KFC's most successful new sandwich launch in company history.
Clearly, the KFC Snacker was immensely popular,
but may have been too successful. Profit margins on value menu items can be razor-thin,
and in 2012, the KFC Snacker was on the way out, replaced with a similar sandwich that
was smaller and cheaper. The Chicken Little was almost the KFC Snacker — but not quite.
A prepackaged and sealed item, the Little Bucket Parfait came
in a small plastic cup and consisted of a crushed graham cracker pie crust,
a layer of chocolate pudding, then some whipped cream, and chocolate sprinkles.
Also available sometimes in strawberry, lemon, and fudge brownie varieties, it was pretty good!
KFC discontinued this relatively complex dessert in the mid-2010s. The internet is awash in
layers of recipe re-creations and petitions that KFC reinstates the menu item, but it's
been almost a decade since the fast food chain seemingly permanently kicked the Little Bucket.
In the early 2020s, several companies began offering brand-new processes for creating
plant-based meat substitutes that offer taste and texture similar to the real thing.
Beyond Meat is an industry leader, and in a partnership with KFC,
made imitation fried chicken made entirely from plants and other non-animal sources.
KFC had a successful test run of Beyond Fried Chicken in 2019,
prompting a wider rollout in the South in 2020. The first plant-based fast
food chicken at a major restaurant chain, Beyond Fried Chicken reportedly nailed it.
Despite the popularity and the forward movement of the plant-based meat industry,
KFC never did launch Beyond Fried Chicken nationwide, but the supplier may start
selling its fried chicken directly to customers sometime in the near future.
During a mini-fad of fast food and convenience food items flavored with pickle juice,
KFC unveiled its Pickle Fried Chicken in the summer of 2018.
Considering that many fast food joints complement their fried chicken sandwiches with pickle slices,
it's not all that weird to soak the meat in the sour, tangy, dilly stuff.
KFC took its Extra Crispy Chicken and saturated it with a pickle sauce made from buttermilk
along with typical pickle elements like dill, vinegar, onion, and garlic. For a very short
period of time, and never again, as of 2021, KFC customers could get their pickle-soaked,
pickle slice-topped chicken in the form of bone-in pieces, tenders, or on a sandwich.
In 2013, KFC stepped up in the world of chicken meat that has been separated from its naturally
occurring bones and then cut into easily manageable portions, breaded and fried,
with its Original Recipe Boneless chicken. It looked almost like and tasted exactly
like KFC's Original Recipe chicken — just without those pesky choking hazards inside.
"What's the matter?"
"Think I ate the bones. I think I ate the bones. I ate the bones!"
Still, that KFC flavor and texture but in a more convenient delivery method
should have been a slam dunk, a product that would last forever. But after about a year on the menu,
KFC pulled Original Recipe Boneless, replacing them with a new strip more akin to the chain's
crunchy Extra Crispy style. Still, we wouldn't mind getting these back — no bones about it.
In mid-1960s, KFC was facing competition from upstarts like Chick-Fil-A and Church's. They
decided to diversify, and in 1968 it began offering roast beef sandwiches,
both at pre-existing stores and at standalone Kentucky Roast Beef outposts.
KFC, however, couldn't get enough chicken die-hards to switch to its carefully prepared,
slow-cooked, thinly-sliced sandwiches made from quality meat. The issue? Price.
At most Kentucky Fried Chickens in 1968, a Jr. Chicken Dinner,
consisting of two pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a biscuit,
cost 85 cents. An a la carte roast beef sandwich would set a customer back 79 cents — not a
great value, relatively speaking. KFC's tasty roast beef has been gone for four decades now.
In the mid-1980s, the first boneless, bite-size pieces of fried chicken hit the
fast food landscape and changed it for good. But it wasn't Kentucky Fried Chicken, the most famous
and popular purveyor of quick-serve bone-in fried chicken who introduced nuggets to the
masses — it was McDonald's, launching the Chicken McNugget in 1983. The launch was so successful,
that McDonald's almost instantly became the #2 chicken seller globally ... behind KFC.
The stalwart fried chicken giant wasn't about to let McDonald's come for the crown,
so KFC responded with Kentucky Nuggets. The company made no bones about its intent,
calling out McDonald's by name in a national commercial
that also mentions that Kentucky Nuggets beat Chicken McNuggets in a taste test.
KFC might have been too late to the tiny chicken game. They couldn't kill the giant,
but kept Kentucky Nuggets on its menu until the mid-90s,
disappointing die-hards when they stopped making them for good.
KFC added another side option in the early 1990s: potato wedges. Unlike the usual fry,
those wedges were thick cut, retained the potato's skin, and were seasoned with a rich and flavorful
blend of spices that made the texture all the more brilliant. They were simply a cut above,
and they were one of the many great sides to get with KFC's many on-the-go combo meals.
KFC customers likely took the wedges for granted, but in 2020, KFC abandoned wedges
in favor of Secret Recipe Fries. Are they objectively tasty? Sure,
but that's not going to convince customers on Team Wedges, who really want their chunky taters back.
"What's left to fry? Fries! Look at 'em go!"
In 2009, KFC took an unlikely step away from its overwhelmingly definitive and signature menu item,
breaded and oil-fried chicken, with the debut of Kentucky Grilled Chicken.
Because it didn't come coated in fat-absorbing flour, the product had far less calories, fat,
and salt, than KFC's Original Recipe chicken. It was, however, flavored with a blend inspired
by KFC's famed "11 herbs and spices" and oven-roasted instead of cooked in oil.
Kentucky Grilled Chicken was a relatively rare healthy option at a major fast food chain,
and while it certainly had its fans, it didn't move well enough for KFC to justify keeping it
around. According to a former KFC employee on Reddit, it sold in low quantities and couldn't
sit around unsold for as long as the fried stuff, making for a significant amount of
costly food waste. After about a two-year life, Kentucky Grilled Chicken was gone.
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