Guilty’s Underrated: McDonald’s Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich

I tried out McDonald’s new Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich with a friend, and the result wasn’t what we expected.

When I learned that McDonald’s was going to launch a chicken sandwich that was going to go head-to-toe with Popeyes insanely popular version, I just had to try it.

Some friends and I trotted out to our local McDonald’s to see if their new Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich would be on the same par as Popeyes. McDonald’s has been in the chicken sandwich game for a while now, but to be honest, their sandwiches haven’t lived up to snuff of the fast-food chicken chains.

Seeing the hype surrounding Popeyes chicken sandwich, it was only a matter of time before one of the big chains would come up with their version; and who would have thought that it would be McDonald’s that would strike first?

As we went ordered our sandwiches, the first thing that immediately stood out to me was the $8.13 price that a meal would entail. That’s a bit steep, especially for McDonald’s as their chicken sandwiches are usually on the affordable end.

Nevertheless, I sucked it in, handed the drive-thru worker my card, and paid the price. As soon as we got the sandwiches something immediately caught my eye. The Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich comes topped with a drizzle of spicy BBQ sauce, pickles, and white onions.

Sounds very familiar to another sandwich McDonald’s serves on a seasonal basis? Yep, it sounds like McDonald’s took the recipe of the McRib and swapped out the rib with their premium chicken.

That’s exactly what it tasted like, too.

The chicken was kind of dry and the sauce all too similar to the one used on the McRib. The conclusion I and my friend came to was that we were eating the McRib in chicken sandwich form. It wasn’t terrible, but it’s not worth the five-or-so bucks you’ll probably shell out for the sandwich, either. The chicken was a bit dry, and it looked a bit too bland. I guess the folks in McDonald’s test kitchen was looking for a sandwich to dump their McRib sauce on year-round, and this was what they came up with.

My final verdict? Wait until McDonald’s drops the price to give the Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich a try.