Chicken tenders are an eternal fast food classic, so it's time to declare a winner in the Mashed taste test between two of the biggest poultry purveyors in the game.
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00:00Chicken tenders are an eternal fast food classic, so it's time to declare a winner
00:05in the mash taste test between two of the biggest poultry purveyors in the game.
00:10To commence the head-to-head chicken tender battle, we ordered three classic Popeyes tenders,
00:15three spicy tenders, one bold BQ sauce, one blackened ranch sauce, and one Mardi Gras mustard.
00:22Then we ordered four chicken fingers and two cane sauces from Raising Cane's.
00:26It's safe to say that the tenders from both chains look more similar than they look different.
00:31Based on the few factors that can actually differentiate them, though,
00:35we have to say Raising Cane's makes the more visually appealing option.
00:39What's most immediately apparent is that the cane's tenders are darker in color.
00:43The spicy Popeyes variety is just barely a darker shade of tan yellow than the original,
00:48but they're both in the same ballpark. Something about the darker color seems
00:51to indicate a richer flavor. Getting slightly more detailed, the cragginess of each style
00:56diverges somewhat in that the breading on the Popeyes tenders is a little flatter and flakier,
01:01while the Raising Cane's tenders are covered in a thicker and rounder breading.
01:05On a related note, the lighter Popeyes breading more readily falls off, exposing plain chicken
01:10and detracting slightly from their appearance. The Cane's tenders largely retained their
01:15breading throughout the meal, so while they might not look radically different from the competition,
01:19a more appetizing color as well as more visually robust and structurally superior
01:24breading clutches the win for Raising Cane's in this department.
01:29After trying bites of plain chicken from the interiors of both Chain's tenders,
01:33we found the poultry at Raising Cane's to be of a higher quality. The Popeyes chicken is a little
01:38softer, and to its credit, it tastes like it was marinated in a spice blend before it was breaded.
01:44That said, it's also a little stringier. Whereas Raising Cane's is firmer and more
01:48readily retains its structure, Cane's chicken may not be spiced to the same extent,
01:53but an overall higher level of quality is pretty clear nonetheless. The nitty-gritty
01:58details of how both Chains procure and prepare their chicken may not be matters of public record.
02:03Nevertheless, one key factor that makes Raising Cane's chicken so delicious
02:08is its commitment to using richer tenderloin meat. Comparatively,
02:11the fact that Popeyes claims to use regular chicken breast rather than tenderloin actually
02:16became the subject of a class-action lawsuit that claimed that the term
02:20tender should exclusively refer to chicken strips made with breast tenderloin meat.
02:25Nevertheless, that lawsuit ultimately seems to have had no effect on Popeyes,
02:29which continues to offer its so-called tenders to this day despite apparently lower quality chicken.
02:35Has anyone in this family ever even seen a chicken?"
02:38Fans and critics of Raising Cane's can agree that the Chain's chicken is relatively unseasoned.
02:44Instead, dipping them in its signature cane sauce is what grants these tenders a robust
02:48flavor that's most typical of fast food. It should come as no surprise, then,
02:53that Popeyes seasons its chicken more than Raising Cane's. For what it's worth,
02:57Cane's chicken doesn't taste like mere breaded poultry. Rather, a prominent buttermilk flavor
03:01introduces at least some complexity. Meanwhile, a Cajun spice blend is perceptible in both the
03:07chicken and the breading at Popeyes. One negative about Popeyes' seasoning worth noting is that
03:12this batch of spicy tenders hardly tasted spicy at all. Instead of some additional hot
03:17pepper component, for example, they seem to simply incorporate more of whatever provides
03:22the default Cajun spice blend with its heat. Spicy or not, though, that spice blend is still
03:28a bit more interesting than the relative lack of spices at Raising Cane's, giving the edge to
03:32Popeyes in this department. The breading may only represent a fraction of each individual chicken
03:38tender, but it still handles plenty of heavy lifting. Simply put, poor breading can absolutely
03:43ruin fried chicken. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that a tender can live or die by the
03:49quality of its breading. To determine how Popeyes and Raising Cane's each handles this key component,
03:54this taste test sampled a few bites of just the outer breading. On the Popeyes' tenders,
03:59the breading was slightly crispy, albeit a little flaky and lightly seasoned.
04:04Something about that seasoning is similar to a store-bought frozen chicken nugget.
04:08Though Cajun flavors played a part as well, the breading on the Spicy tender tasted just
04:13about the same, suggesting that the extra spice is in the marinade and not the coating.
04:17The breading on the Cane's tenders, meanwhile, was noticeably crispier,
04:21and while it wasn't spiced the same, it pulled off a pleasant flavor anyway,
04:25based on just the crispied-up, deep-fried flour and buttermilk. As with the meat,
04:30even if Popeyes is attempting to do more in the flavor department,
04:33it's the Raising Cane's breading that's ultimately the top choice.
04:37Just because you have bragging rights doesn't mean you have to use them.
04:40To customers without a discerning palate, flavor might not play as big of a role as sheer quantity.
04:47Plus, it's hardly controversial to suggest that biting into a big,
04:50juicy tender is more viscerally satisfying than nippling on a smaller, skinnier chicken finger.
04:56With that said, there wasn't a huge discrepancy in size between the Raising Cane's and Popeyes'
05:01tenders, though one of them did manage to come out ahead in this area. Based on some loose
05:06measurements, the Raising Cane's tenders averaged about 4.4 by 1.25 inches. Those numbers might
05:12sound weirdly specific, but all of the tenders were about 4.5 inches in length, except for one
05:19smaller one. As for the Popeyes' tenders, they averaged 4.5 by 1.5 inches, and the biggest
05:25piece from either chain was an original Popeyes tender measuring 5.5 by 1.5 inches. For what it's
05:32worth, you might find that the tenders at your local chain are slightly bigger or smaller,
05:37or that they can vary depending on when you visit. But based on the evidence at hand,
05:41this time at least, Popeyes serves bigger tenders than Raising Cane's.
05:45Raising Cane's famously offers just its secret recipe cane sauce. Well, technically,
05:50they also offer Heinz ketchup, even if that's more for the fries. But at Popeyes,
05:55customers can choose among eight sauce options. Instead of dipping into all of them,
05:59this taste test opted for Bold B.Q., Blackened Ranch, and Mardi Gras mustard for a wide variety
06:05of flavors. Among the three Popeyes sauces, the Bold B.Q. was far and away the best.
06:10Living up to the fact that it's not simply called B.B.Q. sauce, it tasted quite a bit tangier and
06:15considerably spicier than a standard B.B.Q. option. The Mardi Gras mustard, meanwhile,
06:20was a straightforward fast food approximation of a stone-ground mustard, making it slightly above
06:25average as a dipping sauce. Finally, the Blackened Ranch was not perceptibly spicy or even all that
06:31flavorful. With all that said, not even the Bold B.Q. sauce could hold a candle to the sweet,
06:37tangy, blushed-up Thousand Island at Cane's. To verify this, it's worth committing light
06:43sacrilege and trying the Cane's tenders in Popeyes sauces and vice versa.
06:47A Cane's tender in Cane's sauce is the best option, followed by a Popeyes tender in Cane's
06:52sauce. For what it's worth, though, Popeyes' Bold B.Q. should not be underestimated,
06:57though it simply can't hold up to one of the very best dipping sauces in the fast food game.
07:02Simply the best!"
07:05Even Raising Cane's fanatics will readily admit that customization is not one of the chain's
07:10strong suits. That said, it isn't entirely lacking. Of course, the primary choice that
07:15most customers have to make is between a three-piece, four-piece, or six-piece combo.
07:20Each of those comes default with Texas toast, fries, slaw, sauce, and a drink,
07:25although Cane's pros know to sub that slaw out for an extra sauce.
07:29Tenders and sauces are also offered a la carte, on the side menu. For this exercise,
07:34we opted for four tenders and two sauces.
07:37Just like at Cane's, Popeyes offers tender combos in a variety of sizes. Additionally,
07:42three-piece and five-piece tender orders specifically can come a la carte rather
07:46than with sides and a drink, although still with a dipping sauce or two.
07:50The chain also sells classic, spicy, and blackened tenders as opposed to a single
07:54preparation at Cane's. While the ability to order individual tenders in any quantity
07:59is a point in favor of Cane's, a variety of flavors and a greater number of sauces
08:04ultimately adds up to a more robust range of customization options at Popeyes.
08:09An order of three tenders at Popeyes totals 450 calories and 21 grams of fat,
08:15nine of which are saturated and one of which is trans. Additionally,
08:19they contain 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,820 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbs,
08:262 grams of fiber, and 38 grams of protein. That same quantity of three tenders at Raising Cane's
08:32adds up to 390 calories and 18 grams of fat, three of which are saturated. They also consist
08:38of 120 milligrams of cholesterol, 570 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber,
08:45and 39 grams of protein. Save for a highly specific case where 20 additional milligrams
08:50of cholesterol might make a difference, Cane's tenders can be considered the nutritionally
08:54preferable option by virtually every metric, notably including their lack of trans fats,
09:00which health professionals generally consider unsafe to consume.
09:03Nut. Rit. Eon."
09:06Meanwhile, one-ounce sauces at Popeyes range from 40 to 140 calories,
09:11zero to 15 grams of fat, 140 to 450 milligrams of sodium, and zero to 16 grams of sugar. And
09:18a 1.5-ounce serving of Cane's sauce comes out to 190 calories, 19 grams of fat, 580 milligrams of
09:25sodium, and 4 grams of sugar. Even after recounting for discrepancies in serving size, it is technically
09:31possible to choose a healthier sauce at Popeyes. That said, sauce usage can vary dramatically
09:38depending on each individual customer. With that in mind, it's safe to say that Cane's
09:42remains the more nutritious option.
09:45While most Raising Cane's locations are company-owned, Popeyes is predominantly franchised.
09:50As a result, Popeyes prices are more likely to vary based on location, even if they're just
09:56a few miles apart. For the sake of presenting Popeyes in the best possible light, we'll be
10:01using prices from the cheaper location that we were able to check out.
10:04At that particular Popeyes, a three-piece order of chicken tenders including one sauce
10:09totals $7.79, whereas a combo with one side, one drink, and one biscuit is $10.79. Five
10:17pieces with two sauces are $10.99 a la carte or $12.99 in a regular combo. At Raising Cane's,
10:25it came out to $1.81 per tender and $0.39 per sauce. Three tenders and one sauce are
10:31then $5.82 in total. Furthermore, a three-piece combo is $9.89, while a six-piece combo totals
10:39$16.59. That six-piece combo actually costs more than a three-piece with side orders of
10:46three tenders and a sauce, but it does come with a larger drink.
10:50Even if the six-piece combo is arguably not as good of a deal as the Popeyes'
10:55five-piece combo, individual tenders and sauces otherwise costing quite a bit less
11:00make Cane's the altogether thriftier option.
11:03Before making a final judgment, it's worth taking stock of the fact that Raising Cane's
11:08had home-court advantage as a chain dedicated almost entirely to chicken tenders.
11:13And as it turns out, Cane's did indeed secure the win. The basic numbers reflect this.
11:19As Cane's came out ahead in six categories versus Popeyes' three. Furthermore, Popeyes'
11:24wins in the size and customization categories are less important compared to the fact that
11:29Cane's tenders taste better, by every metric, other than how they're seasoned when eaten plain.
11:35Popeyes' tenders aren't bad by any means, especially with the help of the bold BQ sauce.
11:40But as long as there's a Raising Cane's nearby, there are few reasons to opt for its tenders
11:45instead. In the end, the simplicity of Raising Cane's is a big benefit,
11:49as they simply do what they do better than the competition.
11:53I guarantee it.