Kentucky Fried Chicken has been known for its buckets of fried chicken since opening its first
franchise location in 1952. But since it began selling pot pies in 1995, they have arguably
become just as much of a staple on the menu. Originally introduced as a limited-edition item
in a select part of the country, KFC's pot pies didn't seem like they were destined to take off,
however, the fast-food chain decided to officially add to its regular menu.
Marketing the pot pie as nostalgic comfort food played a major role in its long-term success.
"Join me now for a journey into the comfort zone."
By continuing to use retro themes, imagery, and music in commercials,
KFC managed to turn an old-fashioned favorite into a trendy throwback. If you're a pot pie fan,
you may have wondered what makes them so good and, perhaps more importantly,
what goes into making them at all. A video by a KFC employee apparently revealed how they're made.
The YouTube description for KFC's Fresh vs. Classic commercial boasts that
"KFC's pot pie is as fresh as it is classic."
But footage by one KFC employee suggests otherwise. A now-deleted TikTok video
posted by @modaciouss shows a batch of the restaurant's signature pot pies
being made. It begins with a tub of white powder that forms gravy when combined with
water. The employee then whisks in a bag of veggies and tops the mixture off with cooked
chicken from two separate Ziploc bags. @modaciouss doesn't speak in the video,
but one self-identified former manager commenting on a Reddit AMA said,
"Pot pies are made with chicken left over after close.
The chicken is deboned and shredded by hand. The chicken is separated into bags."
It might sound less than appealing to use leftover chicken in a freshly baked pot pie,
but this method happens to be how they are traditionally made.
Chicken pot pies have contained leftover meat for centuries. So while KFC's offering may
not be entirely fresh in the classic sense of the word, the recipe sounds pretty close to authentic.
The fact that KFC's pot pies are made with leftover chicken doesn't mean that they sit
in the back of the refrigerator for eons until someone decides to order one. One former KFC
manager on Reddit said that while the leftover chicken might be shredded, bagged, and stored
after closing time, the pot pies themselves are actually prepared "as needed" throughout the day.
So although the KFC employee in the viral TikTok video appears to be preparing quite a few pot
pies at once, it might not reflect how freshly baked they actually are when served to customers.
As the manager on Reddit explained,
"We take a pie tin, scoop a mix of sauce/vegetables
add chicken and put a flat frozen top on it."
This, of course, isn't nearly as fresh as making it at home from scratch,
but at least you know the KFC pot pies aren't just being reheated after long stints in the freezer.
And let's not forget this is fast food we're talking about. So if you want pot pie in the
time it takes to wait in line at the drive-thru, this is probably as good as it's going to get.
On the plus side, KFC pot pies reduce food waste, which is something the
company seems to care a fair deal about. In a 2020 press release on its website,
KFC affirmed its commitment to keeping perfectly edible chicken from being needlessly tossed out.
And KFC Italia spent years encouraging customers to take home their uneaten chicken for later.
Parent company Yum! Brands revealed that unused chicken is also donated to hunger
relief organizations throughout the U.S. That effort is an extension of KFC's food
donation program called Harvest, which began combating food insecurity in 1999.
Since then, KFC has donated over 83 million pounds of chicken. Of course,
quality control means some chicken can't be donated or turned into pot pie filling.
As another KFC manager explained in a Reddit AMA,
"We have holding times on everything, so if it's not sold within a specified time it's thrown."
Though not all the food can be saved, KFC seemingly does everything in its power
to prevent waste. Making pot pies with leftover chicken, therefore,
isn't just the restaurant being cheap or trying to get away with stretching
its products for as long as possible. So even if you're not a fan of the upcycling
involved in KFC's pot pie recipe, there's no denying that it aids in a worthy cause.
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