Copycat Chick Fil A Chicken Sandwich Recipe | Moms Need To Know ™ (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in Chick-fil-A chicken? ›

Chick-fil-A's secret to juicy chicken lies in their bringing process. Brining is the process of soaking meat in a solution of salt, sugar, and water. This helps to tenderize the meat and infuse it with flavor. Before cooking it, Chick-fil-A soaks its chicken in a solution of salt, sugar, and milk for up to 24 hours.

While MSG is present in some of our menu offerings as a flavor enhancer, we also offer a variety of options that do not contain added MSG. To help our customers make informed decisions, we provide ingredient statements on the Chick-fil-A app or on your local restaurant's menu page.

After being tossed in the perfect seasoning blend, the hand-breaded chicken goes into a pressure fryer. Then it's assembled between two buttered, toasted buns and topped with two carefully placed pickle slices. It's a process that seems simple, but when it all comes together, it's so right.

Ultimately, the Chick-fil-A menu team chose a seasoning with simple ingredients: a blend of sea salt, lemon, garlic and savoury herbs. Once the grilled chicken is cooked, it's placed on a toasted multigrain bun with green leaf lettuce and tomato for the Grilled Chicken Sandwich.

Chick-fil-A's secret to juicy chicken lies in their bringing process. Brining is the process of soaking meat in a solution of salt, sugar, and water. This helps to tenderize the meat and infuse it with flavor. Before cooking it, Chick-fil-A soaks its chicken in a solution of salt, sugar, and milk for up to 24 hours.

Yes, it's true that Chick Fil A includes pickle juice in their marinade, but it's not the sole ingredient responsible for the chicken's taste. Pickle juice serves as a flavor enhancer, adding a tangy and slightly acidic note to the chicken.

But don't just take it from me — this is the (not-so-secret) secret that's fueled the love affair so many people have with Chick-fil-A. It's the pickle brine! Well before being fried to perfection, the chicken breasts are brined with pickle juice for super-juicy, tender meat.

The Cooking Method

Instead of using his mom's pan and lid trick, Cathy bought a commercial pressure cooker to make the chicken. With this pressure cooker, he could have tender, juicy chicken that was fully cooked in just four minutes. Into the pressure cooker, he added the chicken and 100% refined peanut oil.

According to FOX, Chick-fil-A began to switch to antibiotic-free chicken in 2014, and by 2019 all of its restaurants fell into that category. Now, according to the site, the shift will mean that the restaurant will use chicken that has had antibiotics only if it or other animals around it have become sick.

Many of our menu items are hand-prepared daily, right in our restaurant kitchens. For example, the chicken breast we use to make our sandwiches, strips and nuggets is breaded by hand; it never comes to us as a pre-breaded nugget that needs to be reheated.

Did Chick-fil-A make the original chicken sandwich? ›

Not at all, nor do they really think they invented it, though they allow their advertising agency to make the hyperbolic claim. What they did was to make it into a reliable fast food at a reasonable price. The major fast food chains had chicken sandwiches that were deep-fried.

When it comes to Chick-fil-A, their waffle fries cannot be beat. The crispy potato treats have been the fast-food chain's most popular menu item for years—and for good reason! That deep-fried side is downright delicious.

Ever since our founder Truett Cathy created the Chick-fil-A^® Chicken Sandwich, we've been cooking our hand-breaded chicken exclusively in fully refined, heat-processed peanut oil.

Chick-fil-A mandates its franchisees to be “hands-on” operators, meaning they oversee the daily operations of their restaurants without the burden of royalties or marketing fees to the parent company. This model enables Chick-fil-A to maintain competitive prices while passing on savings directly to customers.

Many bloggers and Chick-fil-A regulars believe that the chicken breast is brined in pickle juice before it's breaded and fried. This theory makes sense, because pickle juice contains salt. This key ingredient helps carry moisture and flavor deep into the chicken in the same way it would help flavor a cucumber.

Does Chick-fil-A use hormones or antibiotics in your chicken? All our chicken is real breast meat with no fillers or added hormones or steroids – in fact, no artificial or added hormones are allowed in the production of any poultry in the United States.

Chick-fil-A sources 100% real, whole, boneless breast of chicken that has never been ground or separated, and that contains no fillers or added steroids or hormones*.