Popeyes chicken sandwich is widely credited with starting the legendary “chicken sandwich wars” that dominated fast-food menus for several years. But most of the attention went to the crispiness of the chicken and the flavor of the sauce.
But the pickles were hardly an afterthought for Popeyes’ R&D team.
During the development of the sandwich “the pickles were a top priority,” said Amy Alarcon, VP of culinary at Miami-based Popeyes. After some trial and error, “we chose thick-cut pickle slices that are barrel-aged and crunchy.”
Since then, pickle-mania has flooded TikTok and Instagram, she said. “People who love pickles are obsessive,” Alarcon noted. “So we thought ‘what else can we do with them?’”
Over the last three years, the team has been working on pickles. The first item out of the pipeline was Fried Pickles, using the same batter that goes on Popeyes’ now-famous pioneering chicken sandwich. The crispy, golden-brown fried pickles, served with a side of ranch, were actually first introduced during the pandemic but put on the back burner for a while.
The Fried Pickles relaunched this month, and customers are ordering them both as an add-on and standalone item, according to Popeyes.
The fried chicken sandwich is flavored with a distinctive pickle glaze. | Photo courtesy of Popeyes.
“Nick [Pajor], one of our team members, then had the idea of doing a pickle-flavored glaze for wings,” said Alarcon. The spice-forward glaze has notes of dill, red pepper and ancho chili, and “is meant to be flavorful, not hot for hot’s sake,” she added. Although Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has Cajun roots, “Cajun food is not automatically hot. The briny pickle flavor and fruitiness of anchos comes through,” Alarcon said. “Pickle is the story here, not heat.”
Three items on Popeyes Pickle Menu feature the glaze, starting with the Pickle Glaze Sandwich, which gives the iconic fried chicken sandwich a briny twist. The boneless, hand-battered chicken filet is coated in the glaze then topped with those thick-cut, barrel-aged pickles and served on a toasted brioche bun.
Both the Pickle Glaze Bone-In Wings and Pickle Glaze Boneless Wings are fried crisp then tossed in the same glaze.
Rounding out the limited-time menu is Pickle Lemonade. Popeyes calls this lemonade infused with pickle juice “the refreshing drink you didn’t know you needed,” recommending it as the perfect pairing for all the pickle menu items.
Pickle Lemonade blends cane sugar-sweetened lemonade with a shot of pickle juice. | Photo courtesy of Popeyes.
“Adding a 2-ounce shot of pickle juice to our cane sugar-sweetened lemonade provides natural hydration,” said Alarcon. “The novelty of it has people coming in.”
Indeed, TikTokers have been extolling the hydrating benefits of pickle juice, especially for replenishing electrolytes after a workout.
Pickle Juice: The drink of champions
I guess we are in a pickle now
Dutch Bros jumped on the trend on April Fool’s Day with its newest blended beverage: The Pickleback Rebel. It’s the coffee chain’s pickle juice twist on its signature Rebel energy drink, on the menu past April 1 while supplies last.
Over at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, the Fryckle Pizookie also popped onto the menu on April 1, but for one day only. The dessert is a mashup of BJ’s signature warm chocolate chunk Pizookie—an oversized soft-baked cookie—topped with vanilla ice cream and fried pickles.
The Frycle Pizookie is topped with fried pickles. | Photo courtesy of BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse.
“After the internet went crazy for last year’s Pizickle, we heard our guests loud and clear—they wanted more,” said Heidi Rogers, SVP of marketing at BJ’s, in a statement. “So we took their love of the sweet-and-savory combo and leveled up with crispy fried pickles.”
But Popeyes’ was more interested in threading pickles throughout the menu rather than creating one pickle-focused LTO. The Popeyes Pickle Menu is “a menu takeover that’s thematic and tells a story. It’s very authentic to Popeyes’ way of doing products,” said Alarcon.
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