SYgle>Industry Information>New KFC Saucy Nuggets Review: A Lineup Of Sauces That Range From Safely Familiar To Playfully Spicy

New KFC Saucy Nuggets Review: A Lineup Of Sauces That Range From Safely Familiar To Playfully Spicy

Column: industry Tag: Saucy Nuggets,KFC,Sauces,Fried Chicken Published: 2024-08-14 15:42 Source: www.mashed.com Author: JENNY KELLERHALS

There's no shortage of options when it comes to sauced-up chicken these days. However, few restaurant chains seem to have pursued the trend as voraciously as KFC has in recent months. The fried chicken brand originally launched its line of Saucy Nuggets back in April of this year, and is doubling down on the menu trend with a new lineup of sauces to appeal to saucy chicken enthusiasts everywhere.

The original collection of Saucy Nuggets came tossed with one of five sauces, including the previously beloved Nashville Hot and Carolina Gold sauces. Korean BBQ, Honey Sriracha, and Sticky Chicky Sweet n' Sour sauces rounded out the original menu. The new Saucy Nuggets menu says goodbye to all of the original sauce flavors, except for the Korean BBQ sauce. All-new Chipotle Ranch, Mango Habanero, and Honey Garlic sauces take their places, as well as a Honey BBQ sauce that was seen elsewhere on the KFC menu in the past.

After tasting the first iteration of KFC's Saucy Nuggets earlier this year (and several of its competitors' offerings in between), I was curious to see how the new flavors compared. Here's everything you need to know about how to get your fingers on the newest Saucy Nuggets, and what to expect from the new flavor offerings.

Saucy Nuggets prices and availability

The new Saucy Nuggets hit menus across the country on Monday, August 12th, and are available in stores and online. To promote the new saucy flavors, KFC is offering a few deals for a limited time. The price for a 10-piece Saucy Nuggets order begins at $5.99 before tax (although the price may be higher in some states and locations, as well as adjusted for delivery services).

For orders placed online through the KFC website, customers can score a free 10-piece Saucy Nuggets with orders of $10 or more. Additionally, a 40-piece Saucy Nuggets Party Pack is currently available for digital orders and includes your choice of up to four different sauce flavors.

The Saucy Nuggets are available in 8, 10, and 12-piece order sizes, by themselves or as a combo which includes a medium drink, biscuit, and a side order of your choice. Since the first round of Saucy Nuggets was only available for about three months, it's safe to assume that the new Saucy Nuggets might also be a seasonal offer.

Honey Garlic

For someone who wants to wade into the world of Saucy Nuggets slowly, the Honey Garlic Nuggets are a great place to start. Described by KFC as "sweet with a kick," this particular sauce doesn't go especially hard in either of those directions. It isn't overpoweringly sweet, nor does it have too noticeable of a kick (and I say this as someone who is sensitive to spicy foods).

Instead, what you'll find is a slightly garlicky, savory sauce that comes across a little buttery, with a hint of honey for balance and a little bit of a peppery finish. The seasoning doesn't taste much stronger than the famous seasoning that's already in KFC's iconic blend of 11 herbs and spices, which classic KFC lovers should enjoy. Essentially, the Honey Garlic Sauce makes for a slightly more complex, but still very familiar Saucy Nugget experience for anyone not interested in much of a challenge.

Honey BBQ

The Honey BBQ Saucy Nuggets really lead with the BBQ flavors and downplay the honey in this tangy, smoke-forward sauce. Clearly meant to appeal to the more traditional BBQ sauce lovers out there, this sauce is made with a tomato base, brown sugar, and a modest palette of spices that don't diverge much from your typical bottle of grocery store BBQ sauce. A warm and steamy batch of the Honey BBQ Saucy Nuggets wafts a smoky aroma as soon as you open the lid, which is a nice touch. The tomato and brown sugar notes are apparent but seamlessly blend together with the honey in the mix.

The Honey BBQ sauce has appeared as a dipping sauce, and elsewhere on the KFC menu in the past, but it was only introduced to the Saucy Nuggets menu as recently as June this year. While it's a fan favorite, it's not exactly taking your fried chicken nuggets to a whole new level. This familiar BBQ sauce doesn't pull any punches and will undoubtedly appeal to a broad range of tastes.

Korean BBQ

The Korean BBQ sauce is the singular Saucy Nuggets flavor that has stayed on the menu since the Saucy Nuggets were launched back in April, which is a good indication that it's one of the more popular flavors being offered. The sauce comes out swinging with a bold soy sauce-based flavor that's highlighted with garlic, sesame, and a little bit of sweetness.

While KFC describes this sauce as "sweet 'n savory," it's not nearly as sweet as what you'd expect from a Chinese sweet and sour sauce — which is a relief. I was especially happy with some of the chili notes in the sauce, which came on slowly and left a subtle, slow burn. The menu doesn't specifically list gochujang sauce as an ingredient, but it's clear that the umami and chili flavor profile is referenced for this sauce. Fans of popular Korean BBQ sauces should have no trouble enjoying this Saucy Nuggets flavor. But depending on how much heat intensity you're looking for, know that this Korean BBQ sauce lands on the milder end of the heat spectrum.

Mango Habanero

The Mango Habanero is probably the most exhilarating flavor currently in the Saucy Nuggets lineup. Newly added, the sauce has clear tropical notes and doesn't downplay the habanero in the mix. In fact, after tasting the other saucy flavors and finding the heat intensity to be relatively mild across the board, I was unprepared for how spicy the Mango Habanero sauce actually is. It's by far the spiciest and sweetest sauce in the lineup — more complex than a typical sweet and sour sauce (although about the same level of sweetness) and spicier than your average BBQ sauce.

If you're looking for an option that breaks away from the familiar menu of dipping sauce flavors and you can handle a little extra heat, the Mango Habanero is the most creative sauce currently available on the Saucy Nuggets menu. Also, if you were a fan of the Nashville Hot sauce on the first iteration of KFC's Saucy Nuggets menu, this might be your next best spicy option on the current menu.

Chipotle Ranch

After tasting the Chipotle Ranch Saucy Nuggets, I immediately wondered why some version of a ranch sauce wasn't one of the first sauces to make it onto the Saucy Nuggets menu. KFC's Buffalo Ranch is considered one of its best dipping sauces, so why shouldn't there be a ranch option for the Saucy Nuggets too? It was one of the flavor profiles missing in the original collection and makes a great, if obvious, addition to the new Saucy Nuggets menu with this new release.

The sauce is on the creamier side, which balances the warm spices and subtle smokiness of the chipotle seasoning in the sauce. Generally speaking, there isn't anything unexpected about this spiced ranch sauce, but it's easy to enjoy and different enough from the other sauces offered to warrant its own tasting. The nuggets come generously sauced, but hardcore ranch enthusiasts can't go wrong with ordering a side of buffalo ranch sauce to dip the Chipotle Ranch Saucy Nuggets in as well.

The final verdict on the new Saucy Nuggets

KFC's most recent Saucy Nuggets release seems to play it a little safer than the first menu I tasted earlier in the year. Some of the options from the original release, like the Honey Sriracha and the Sticky Chicky Sweet 'n Sour Sauce, were familiar flavors that didn't break any particular molds — but there was something uniquely special about the Georgia Gold sauce that will be missed on the updated Saucy Nuggets menu. Perhaps we'll see it again in the future, either on the Saucy Nuggets menu again or elsewhere.

With that said, the spread of sauce options is a little more diverse than it was previously. The previous Honey Sriracha flavor could have been confused with the sweet and sour sauce, and the Sticky Chicky Sweet 'n Sour Sauce was positioned as a more popular choice than the Korean BBQ (which seems to have played out the other way around). The five flavors in the new lineup are more well-defined, and while they might not be the most innovative flavors, they certainly aren't interchangeable.

Tasting methodology

Ahead of the first Saucy Nuggets menu launch, I was invited to visit KFC headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, to preview the new menu and flavors. When tasting the latest Saucy Nuggets flavors, I compared them to what was previously offered, and to what kinds of dipping sauces you'd typically find on a fried chicken menu. If a sauce goes above and beyond what's already being offered on the menu, that heavily swayed my opinion on how interesting and valuable it is on the Saucy Nuggets menu.

As the saucy chicken wars heat up in 2024, I've also tasted the Wendy's Saucy Nuggs offerings, and kept up with the many new menu items offered by KFC this year. From nuggets to wraps, quesadillas to Apple Pie Poppers — there's no doubt that KFC is in its innovation era. Given the impressive number of new menu items released in the last year and having tasted almost all of them, each new menu item continues to inform my opinion about the next.

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