You have to hand it to whoever does the marketing for Popeyes fast food restaurants. Last August they launched a new chicken sandwich campaign and immediately went into a good-natured social media war with Chik-fil-A. They got a ton of attention which translated into a lot of business. The sales for for this sandwich was averaging 1,000 per store in August.
Then at the end of August they did something really interesting and I think it was a genius move, they yanked the sandwich from the menu. They claim that they’ve “sold out” of the sandwich and it’ll be back, maybe in October which is bringing all kinds of anticipation for the sandwich. Check out this article and video that details what’s going on.
When they launched the sandwich I was going to try one for the MBIP 13 Month Chicken Tour, but then when they yanked it, I thought we’d have to wait. That’s until they pulled yet another marketing stunt last week. They announced that the chicken sandwich is back, but it’s a BYOB sandwich now. That means you have to bring your own bun. Click here or on the image below for the announcement they put up on Twitter.
So I decided to take them up on this challenge, go to Popeyes, get the three piece chicken tender meal and make my own version of the sandwich here at the MBIP Kitchen in the MBIP World Headquarters.
So its off to Popeyes we go!
Here we are at Popeyes on Glen Avenue.
Check out the sign on the door, the Chicken Sandwich will be right back. They’re milking this for all it’s worth!
There’s the front counter and the inside menu board also hypes that the chicken sandwich will be back soon.
I ordered the three piece chicken tender meal and now it’s back to the MBIP Kitchen in the MBIP World Headquarters to make our version of this sandwich.
This is everything we need to assembled the MBIP version of the BYOB Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.
From left: Kings Hawaiian Hamburger Buns, Butch’s All-Purpose Hot Sauce, Lawry’s Teriyaki Marinade, Funks Grove Pure Maple Syrup, Popeyes Mardi Gras Mustard and the three piece chicken tender meal.
First we’ll make the sauce for the sandwich.
The Sauce
The Popeyes chicken sandwich uses a mayonnaise concoction for their sauce, but mayonnaise always makes me think of whale sperm and that’s not too appetizing, so I’m going to make a zesty sauce for the MBIPBYOB Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.
The base of the sauce is Butch’s All-Purpose Hot Sauce and to that I’m adding the Funks Grove Syrup for a little sweet to balance the heat. I’m also adding a dollop of the Lawry’s Teriyaki Marinade for flavor and the chicken tender meal came with Popeyes own Mardi Gras Mustard Sauce, so I threw that in as well. Then I added some black pepper and the sauce is complete!
Now we’ll let it simmer on a low heat on the stove and let all those flavors combine.
The Buns
I chose King’s Hawaiian Hamburger Buns to house the sandwich in.
They have a slight sweet flavor to them and I thought they’d work well with the spicy chicken and sauce. I buttered them and we’ll toast them under the broiler.
The Chicken Tenders
Here’s the three chicken tenders, I got the spicy tenders and the meal comes with a biscuit and an ear of corn. The corn is off to the side and you’ll see it in a minute. Be patient!
Making The MBIPBYOB Sandwich
Okay, the buns are toasted and time to put this sandwich together!
Popeyes puts pickles on their sandwich, but I’m not a big fan of pickles on sandwiches, so we’re leaving them off of the MBIPBYOB Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.
There’s way too much chicken for the bun, so I tore off a few pieces for the sandwich and we can eat the rest of them with the side dishes.
I slathered the warm zesty sauce on top and we’re good to go!
The MBIPBYOB Meal
Here’s a bird’s-eye-view of the entire meal.
There’s the biscuit, the ear of corn the extra tenders and most importantly, the sandwich!
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the MBIPBYOB Popeyes Chicken Sandwich!
Wow, this is really a tasty sandwich!
The chicken tenders are crunchy and spicy and juicy inside and the sauce compliments them perfectly. It’s got equal parts heat, sweet and an exotic flavor, much better than whale sperm mayonnaise!
And the toasted Hawaiian bun is the icing on the cake.
I’ll be anxious to compare this to the Popeyes sandwich when they finally bring it back. Stay tuned for that!
Chicken Rating
Four Dixie Chickens—I think I did well in Popeyes BYOB challenge and can’t wait to compare their sandwich topped with their whale sperm sauce to the MBIPBYOB Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.
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2245 W. Glen Avenue
Peoria
309-839-2905
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