I worked in KFC as a teen, and there is simply no way for a mouse/rat to enter the chain and get cooked. Chicken parts are dry breaded (not battered) and they are cooked in pressure cookers so nothing can fall or climb in. And besides, anyone working the front end would quickly get very familiar with how the pieces looked and would immediately tell something was amiss before putting it in the box.
Pieces had “tails” all the time. It’s just a thin part of the skin or fat that stuck out in the vat and got crispy and stayed that way.
I have been infuriated for some years that KFC doesn’t do this, for all the reasons mentioned above – the coating is 100% of the value, the chicken contributes very little other than volume, and there are countless alternatives that could work well and in some cases yield more profit: not just tofu or (hail) seitan, but cauliflower, paneer, nougat, etc. I guess they’re just super-sensitive about conceding that there are reasons not to eat chicken right when they’re trying to sell people chicken.
Now hold up. Not wanting to eat meat does not mean I don’t want greasy salty garbage. I want that very much and reject the false dichotomy between “meat for every meal” and “joyless 24/7 unseasoned raw lentils”.
well… it didn’t. beyond meat’s very first product was a pea-protein based chicken strip, and of course morningstar and others have had halfway decent chicken strips even before that.
beyond meat also had a frozen ‘beef crumble’ product which was also kind of me-too. but then they came out with the beyond burger, and now they are doing the ground beef thing. they recently discontinued their chicken strips since they said they were working on a new formulation. i guess this is it.
anyway all they hype didn’t start until beyond meat had the beyond burger out and then impossible joined the fray, and then BYND went public which really kicked the hype into overdrive.
i have been vegetarian since 1992 and i am OK with these new products - the beyond burger tastes pretty good to me but the impossible burger is way too meat-like in its aftertaste. but hey if these things make factory farming of animals obsolete, i’m all for them.
i still actually prefer the regular veggie burgers though, i guess i’m used to them…
Even when I ate meat, hamburgers were all about the bun and the toppings for me. The patty provides an important base to build the rest of the sandwich around, but it’s not really the main attraction, IMO.
But the texture of a black bean patty, or the older varieties of processed plant patties, just don’t cut it. A beyond burger, smashed flat, seasoned well, and griddled to a crisp, is just right for providing that nice bite and base umami flavor. Pile on the onions, good juicy tomato, lettuce, pickles, sauces, and sandwich it all in a nice toasted kaiser roll… mmmmmm… I’m hungry now.
Similarly, I don’t really miss the experience of eating chicken flesh. But the other stuff that goes around it - fried seasoned buttermilk batter, pickles, hot sauce - are great, and need some base to build on, and I don’t know of any good non-meat options that make those other components work together. So I’m excited to try this.
I can’t do Daiya. I tried it, I find it nasty. Doesn’t melt right on pizza either. I don’t think it’s available in Europe yet but if you get a chance to try them, Miyokos’ cheeses are phenomenal. They’re made from cultured cashew milk. The vaguely goat-cheese-like soft cheeses are amazing on crackers. The mozzerella is honestly good enough to use in a caprese salad, I was shocked. I haven’t tried melting it yet, but once I have time to get my sourdough starter going again, I’ll try it on a Margherita pizza…
I like the part of the ad where Gaffigan turns around to see pics of Gary Busey, Tim Meadows, Gilbert Gottfried, 3 others, and a dog. Yay, pause button!
I’m sure they’ll have a completely separate cooker for the fake meat, instead of just using the same chicken grease to deep fry it or whatever they do to it.
I worked in a KFC as a teen as well, my first ‘real’ job. My dad lied about my age (this was way back when, you could get away with stuff) and so I was running that big pressure cooker as a lil 15 year old. And I also kind of agree – there’s no way I would have breaded and loaded a mouse or a rat into the pressure cooker basket. You definitely get a sense really quickly as to what’s what and a mouse would stand out. Maybe someone would do it on purpose but accidentally seems pretty far fetched.
Beyond meat burgers and sausages are so good that, despite now being in Austin, TX, we now use them exclusively for home-cooked burgers or unsmoked sausages, and find ourselves missing nothing in terms of taste or texture while eliminating meat from our diet about once a week or so.
This chicken I imagine would replace tenders or nuggets more than actual fried bone-in chicken, but if it approximates the taste and texture as well as their other products, we will actively seek these out should they come to ATX, and I’d imagine we won’t be alone.
Have you eaten at Vegan Nom? It’s a food truck, they used to have a location by my work but closed it down. I haven’t been to their main location south east but their food is great, pricey unless you get one of their $2 daily special tacos.
I also found out there’s a vegan food truck park by my work i’ve been meaning to check out by North Loop.
Yep, I thought I saw Mark Wahlberg and Jack Black, but maybe not. Still, I’d love to see Gaffigan & Black battle it out at an audition for the part; Gaffigan to keep his Colonel post, and Black to take it away!
I remember going through the KFC drive thru a few years back. While I was waiting, I glanced in the window to see a big glossy poster titled “Care and Maintenance of the Eight Headed Henny Penny.” Yeah, that kind of gave me pause.
Turns out “Henny Penny” is not only a children’s story chicken, it’s also a brand of deep fat fryer. But at the time, I had visions of eight-headed, eight-legged genetically engineered monstrosities, ghoulishly code named “Henny Penny” in mockery of their long-past ancestral stock. Didn’t stop me from getting my Double Down Sandwich, though.
I doubt it will help you, as I’m in a vaguely middle European country known for starting and losing world wars and winning world cups, but here you go:
Note, that it isn’t exactly like liver wurst of course. But I imprinted on the original as a kid over 40 years ago and enjoyed a wide variety of brands and variations and this vegetarian option is good enough for me to make the switch.
Edit: I actually had some bread with it a couple of hours later. Had to remind myself that it wasn’t the real thing, since my original comment brought me into the mood to “yes, it’s not the real thing, i shouldn’t be too smitten by it”, but I was so surprised by its taste I’m willing to bet that a sizable number of people wouldn’t even notice it being vegan.
just right for providing that nice bite and base umami flavor. Pile on the onions, good juicy tomato, lettuce, pickles, sauces, and sandwich it all in a nice toasted kaiser roll… mmmmmm… I’m hungry now.
