Wilder Shaw / Cheapism
KFC has rarely expanded out of the realm of southern flavors, but it's a new age. We've got Chizza, we've got Apple Pie Poppers, and now we've got five brand new sauced-up nuggets, very reminiscent of the way Wingstop serves boneless wings.
You're only allowed to select one flavor per order, so which ones should you go with? I tasted all five and ranked 'em thusly. Spoiler alert: All hits and no misses, my friends.
The truth is, I really enjoyed every single one of these flavors. And not just because KFC recently wined and dined me. This ranking is so close that if you were persuasive enough, I bet you could get me to change it up a bit.
At the end of the day, this winner plays on my very specific personal preference. I love gochujang, and that’s the backbone flavor of KFC’s Korean BBQ nuggets. They’re not very spicy, but the tang and garlic of the sauce really does it to me.
We’ve got a classic Southern honey mustard-style sauce here, but what I love the most is that it seems to have been hit with some sort of seasoning at the end. It almost simulates the feeling of a crispy dry rub, all while being soaked in a sweet, mustardy sauce. These Georgia Goldies are surprisingly complex, and just when you think you’re finished tasting everything, it suddenly gets kind of spicy. Dinner and a show.
In what is undoubtedly the trendiest flavor of fried chicken these days, KFC’s actually done a nice thing here. These are definitely spicy, but not blow-your-mind spicy. These nuggies easily retain the flavors you find in Nashville hot seasoning – paprika, brown sugar, cayenne — but without the palate-blasting burn. And to top it all off, you get a little helping of pickle slices. What a great touch.
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I’ll be honest, at first I sorta thought that Colonel Sanders was coming for Panda Express’ crown with an orange chicken attempt. Eventually, I deduced this was just a classic sweet ‘n sour sauce, and the way I deduced that was by seeing those words printed underneath the flavor on the container. Real Sherlock Holmes stuff on my end.
This is a tasty, Asian-y chicken nugget. The sauce is thick and sticky, and does actually seem like it was just scooped out of its metal tray in a hot bar. I like it, Colonel. And I’m sorry I accused you of such a silly thing.
Related: All 5 KFC Sauces, Ranked
There’s nothing wrong with this sauce, but it sort of feels like the other sauces have covered what Honey Sriracha is trying to bring to the table. We’ve got two solid, spicy flavors already, and sweetness is found in both Sticky Chicky and Georgia Gold. I’m least likely to grab these again, but that’s no fault of its own.
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