<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Ww7va_0w3TZOjH00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Ww7va_0w3TZOjH00" width="500" height="333" ><figcaption>ALLISON ROBICELLI FOR TASTE OF HOME</figcaption></figure><p>It’s hard to believe that Popeyes added a chicken sandwich to its menu only five short years ago. Surely, the Cajun-spiced chicken chain knew it had a dynamite product on its hands, and perhaps Popeyes even predicted that it would become as iconic as the <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/things-never-knew-mcdonalds-big-mac/">McDonald’s Big Mac</a>. But there is no way they could have predicted the chicken sandwich wars to follow.</p><p>As a professional food writer who specializes in <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-pizza/">unusual food reviews</a>, I was deep in the trenches for said wars. After Popeyes successfully usurped the Chicken Sandwich Throne from Chick-fil-A, every fast-food restaurant entered the fray, releasing an improved version of a menu item that was oft-neglected. I tried just about every chicken sandwich, and while I respect the effort, not one came close to outranking Popeyes.</p><p>Now, half a decade later, the Popeyes chicken sandwich not only remains the <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/we-went-to-8-restaurants-to-find-the-best-fast-food-chicken-sandwich/">best fast-food chicken sandwich</a> but may well be the best fast-food <i>item</i>, period. It should be impossible for Popeyes to engineer anything greater, but in this age, chains have no choice but to keep on innovating. That means the Chicken Sandwich that Changed the World needs a regular glow-up to keep things spicy.</p><h2>What is the Popeyes Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich?</h2><p>The Popeyes Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich doesn’t differ all that much from its regular chicken sandwich, which features an ultra-crispy buttermilk-battered chicken breast on a butter-toasted brioche bun with sliced pickles. What makes this version different is the addition of a “scary spicy” mayo-based sauce made with ghost pepper—one of the spiciest <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/guide-to-peppers-from-sweet-to-spicy/">types of pepper</a> known to mankind. In fact, ghost peppers are so spicy that in their native India, they’re made into a paste that farmers smear on their fences to keep elephants from trampling their crops, as well as being used in various brands of pepper spray. The leap from chemical weapons to fast-food sandwich is an audacious one, but our brave new world needs a brave new sandwich to match.</p><p>Though the official description of this limited-time offering only mentions the spicy sauce, at the location I visited, the Popeyes Ghost Pepper Sandwich also included bacon and cheese, which are two things I have never once said no to. Even as someone who has been blessed with lactose tolerance, I am firm in my belief that cheese makes just about everything exponentially better.</p><h2><b>Is the sandwich</b> <b><i>that</i></b> <b>spicy?</b></h2><p>Nope. This is a fast-food restaurant that needs to please millions of average American palates, and as tough as we like to believe we are, this nation can barely handle Buffalo wings. Why do you think bottles of hot sauce have plastic stoppers to dispense their liquid fire drop by drop, instead of allowing us to let ‘er rip like they do in hotter parts of the world? The further you get from the equator, the milder food needs to be. Unless your ancestors were eating fiery foods by the fistful centuries ago, you likely don’t have a tongue that evolved to handle a barrage of capsaicin without breaking a sweat. (There is nothing wrong with this. If spicy foods didn’t come with the implicit threat of agony, they wouldn’t be so much fun to eat.)</p><p>But despite the fact that the Popeyes Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich isn’t spicy in the slightest, it <i>is</i> insanely delicious, which is the only thing that really matters. The chicken itself is as good as it gets, putting even my local bar and grill to shame. The breading is shatteringly-crisp, the insides are tender, juicy and flawlessly seasoned. While I normally find bacon to be superfluous on many sandwiches, in this case, it’s a welcome addition, helping to amplify the ghost pepper’s smokiness.</p><p>As for the sauce itself, it’s good, but barely noticeable beneath a mountain of chicken, bacon, cheese and pickles. Again, this is not a bad thing, unless you’re hoping to have your face demolished by a wall of edible fire. If that’s the case, <a href="https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/best-hot-sauce/">bring your hot sauce</a> to Popeyes with you.</p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Is Popeye’s New Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich Really ‘Spooky Spicy’?

It’s hard to believe that Popeyes added a chicken sandwich to its menu only five short years ago. Surely, the Cajun-spiced chicken chain knew it had a dynamite product on its hands, and perhaps Popeyes even predicted that it would become as iconic as the McDonald’s Big Mac. But there is no way they could have predicted the chicken sandwich wars to follow.

Is Popeye’s New Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich Really ‘Spooky Spicy’?

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