- Chicken tenders are back in a big way.
- We tried chicken tenders from several major fast-food chains to find out whose are the best.
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We tried chicken tenders from every major fast-food chain — and the winner is obvious
We decided to put fast-food chains' tenders to the test to see which contender is the best.
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The humble chicken tender — or chicken fingers, in some circles — is making a comeback.
Chicken tenders are the most glorious incarnation of handheld fried chicken. They're heftier than nuggets, simpler than wings, ideologically purer than boneless wings. The adoration for chicken tenders is universal, bridging the spans of age and class alike — the great equalizers, so they say, are death, taxes, and tenders. With McDonald'sresurrecting them on their menu and Wendy's introducing theirs, the time for tenders has come.
A handful of major fast-food chains offer tenders, and we decided to put them all to the test to see which con-tender (sorry) reaches the top of the tourney.
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We have seven chains duking it out: Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, KFC, McDonald's, Popeyes, Carl's Jr., and Wendy's.
That's a lot of chicken.
7. Dairy Queen
We all knew someone had to come last, and to be honest, most knew it was going to be Dairy Queen.
Are they terribly awful? No. But Dairy Queen's roots lie in, well, dairy, and it's what it does best. We all love a Blizzard — but DQ's food is often lacking, both in quality and direction. Its tenders have some crunch from their thick breading, but it overpowers the chicken.
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6. KFC
KFC's chicken tenders are a fairly substantial step forward in quality. The tenders are large and burly, and have a definite crunch to them.
The taste of their signature eleven herbs and spices is instantly recognizable, with the little cracks of black pepper scattered here and there in the breading standing out. The chicken is savory and fairly good, but it lacks a certain "oomph," a je ne sais pas that sets it apart with true and certain distinction.
5. Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is more known for its, um, provocative advertising than its chicken — and maybe more than its food in general. These tenders are skinny and a little on the soggy side of things. There's no crunch to speak of, in high contrast to KFC's crisp-apalooza.
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However, the chicken itself is surprisingly decent. It's tender and juicy, with no stringiness or dry parts. There's not much seasoning apart from salt, however, making them taste rather flat.
4. Wendy's
These are a fairly new item on Wendy's menu, which could be seen as a defensive response to the threat posed by the ever-expanding reach of Chick-fil-A.
A considerable amount of chicken is in each tender, wrapped in a rather soft and subdued breading that recedes in deference to the meat.
The chicken is salty and rich — a smooth, almost buttery taste develops. It's quite good, especially in comparison to Wendy's chicken nuggets, which are decidedly unimpressive.
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But, a crunchier, more texturally satisfying outside would bring these tenders to the next level.
3. McDonald's
McDonald's new tender formula is leaps and bounds above its previous Chicken Selects iteration — they're hefty, juicy, and crunchy. There's more flavor in the breading, with presence of black pepper and buttermilk.
The chicken does tend to get a little stringy towards the ends of the tenders, but that's to be expected — overall, the meat is juicy and of rather impressive quality. Plus, the consistency of the crispness is huge.
2. Popeyes
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Popeyes does chicken well. It's unbelievably crunchy, undeniably moist, and unerringly consistent.
They offer two kinds of tenders — mild and spicy — so for the sake of comparison, we went with mild.
And indeed, mild is accurate, for better or worse. The chicken is juicy and inoffensive; a little towards the sleepy side of flavor. The spicy version has more verve, but including it in this would be unfair.
Even still, the quality of the chicken and the consistency at which Popeyes delivers make these tenders a very strong runner-up.
1. Chick-fil-A
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While McDonald's tenders improving so much was quite a surprise, the winner for now may not be a shock to some. Chick-fil-A has found the perfect way to make chicken, and it hasn't let up.
The tenders are just that: tender.
And while the crunch is inconsistent from tender to tender, the meat is always flavorful and juicy. They're good enough to even eat on their own, without the aid of dipping sauces — not that one should ever pass up an opportunity to enjoy Chick-fil-A sauce.
McDonald's and Popeyes are almost the same at this rate, which is impressive, but Chick-fil-A still manages to come out on top.
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