Wendy’s Is Changing Its Chicken Meaning It’s Changing The Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Mark Harris
2 min readFeb 23, 2017

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Instagram/@Wendy’s

If you’re a true fast-food connoisseur then you know just how great Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich is. You know that it’s the perfect amount of spicy and you know the meat isn’t the best quality but you don’t care one bit. It’s the perfect sandwich for anyone drinking/anyone that has been drinking and it’s certainly a great hangover solution.

Well, bad news, it’s likely going to taste a bit different in the near future as Wendy’s is reportedly reducing the size of the chickens they use to make their sandwich fillets and the chicken used in their salads due to complaints of the meat being rubbery.

Here’s the news via Business Insider:

Wendy’s is spending $30 million to shrink the size of the chickens used to make the fillets in its sandwiches and salads in response to customer complaints about the rubbery texture of its chicken products.

The fast-food chain has been working with suppliers over the last couple months to reduce its average chicken size by up to 20%, the company told Business Insider.

The meat from the smaller chickens tastes better and customers rate it as more tender and flavorful, according to Gail Venrick, senior director of protein procurement for Wendy’s.

“It’s about the texture and how juicy it is,” Venrick said of the change.

The new fillets started rolling out in restaurants last month, and will be available at all restaurants by the end of the second quarter.

So apparently smaller chickens don’t have rubbery meat. You learn something new everyday.

That rubbery texture is what makes Wendy’s chicken sandwiches Wendy’s chicken sandwiches. This isn’t a restaurant where you’re expecting a perfectly fried chicken sandwich nor should you be anticipating the world’s best fried chicken sandwich.

Nevertheless, Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich is in a league of its own and that shouldn’t be changed.

Here’s to hoping the not so rubbery new meat will taste just as great as the original.

Also, praise be that Wendy’s isn’t messing with their chicken nuggets; those should never be changed.

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