Kentucky Fried Chicken Grilled Chicken from KFC

In 2009 KFC came up with the idea of serving grilled chicken in addition their legendary fried chicken. As mentioned the main idea of it was to have a healthy alternative to their finger licking good Kentucky fried chicken. I actually finally broke down and tried the grilled chicken. Here are some thoughts about it.

I should start with a bit of history that many people might not recall. Back in the 1990's Boston Chicken (after huge success and then falling to bankruptcy they would become Boston Market) made their chicken Rotisserie style. This was much healthier than fried chicken and to keep from losing market share KFC copied this. They also were offering cornbread muffins in addition to biscuits. This basically matched what Boston Market was offering. Brand loyalty, a good product, and poor management by Boston Market allowed KFC to remain on top. Demand died down and this was taken off the menu in most markets. This did still offer a rotisserie chicken sandwich and for a time they even had rotisserie chicken tenders. These gradually faded out as did the much healthier cornbread muffins.

With a larger emphasis on health KFC recently got back into the act with the grilled chicken in addition to their other items. It is grilled in a big grilling type machine and has grill marks on it. It is not laid out on a barbeque grill though like some may think. It is made with the same herbs and spices and the skin is left on. I must say that I actually like it and find it rather tasty and a very healthy alternative. Since it is not fried the calories, fat, and all that bad stuff are greatly reduced. KFC's original recipe chicken breast contains 320 calories, 15 grams of fat, 4 grams of carbohydrates, and 42 grams of protein. The grilled breast by contrast is much healthier. A beast contains 190 calories, 6 grams of fat, no carbohydrates and 31 grams of protein. The health benefits are obvious.

I am a southern boy and love the fried chicken. I shouldn't but I do. As I am getting a little older, and my younger years catch up to me, I am learning moderation and trying to eat healthier at least some of the time. Some people describe the taste as Boston Market. I would not completely agree with that, but that does give you a bit of an idea. I prefer the white meat to the dark, but I will say that I can't stand the thighs fried, but I actually can eat the grilled version.

I think this will greatly help KFC with some of lost sales to those who are more health conscious, but I don't think that the company has completely thought this out. While they are offering a healthy version of their chicken, they are still not really offering any healthy sides. The exception might be their corn on the cob, but with all the butter on it the purpose is defeated. You also like to eat bread with chicken and they have not brought back the corn bread muffins. They have kept the very unhealthy, but delicious biscuits on the menu. I am sure someone in the company has thought of this the menu will evolve. Overall I think this is pretty good idea and will give KFC continued financial success.

Source

www.KFC.com

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