Review: Popeyes - Popcorn Chicken

Popeyes' new Popcorn Chicken comes in a quarter-pound serving along with a side and biscuit for $4.

Like a lot of Popeyes' monthly specials, the chain has offered similar products before, including chicken nuggets and Red Hot Popcorn Chicken.

Your mileage may vary but one of the pieces I got might have counted as a full-on chicken strip, and the others qualified at least as nuggets (albeit irregularly shaped ones) rather than poppable bites. The Popcorn Chicken were, on the whole, actually meatier than Popeyes' strips. Additionally, I got a very generous amount of chicken but my local Popeyes also sometimes gives me four chicken strips instead of three.

The chicken wasn't juicy but was moist enough. Flavorwise, it tasted like Popeyes' lightly seasoned fried chicken and chicken strips but with the odd spiciness here and there that had me suspecting I was eating the leftover odds and ends from both original and spicy chicken breast meat. The breading differed though. It wasn't as flaky. Instead, it was thicker and super crunchy. For the most part, the crunch was nice but one bite had me hoping I wouldn't chip a tooth as I caught onto a jawbreaker-like hardness.

When it comes down to it, Popeyes' new Popcorn Chicken turned out pretty well for me. While the taste was familiar and a bit plain (but well-suited for dipping), the texture was a nice change and the value was outstanding.