KFC's Double Down: bacon and cheese sandwiched between two pieces of fried chicken

From the Consumerist: "The Original Recipe [Double Down] sandwich will set you back about 540 calories, 32g of fat and 1380mg of sodium. The not-as-bad-for-you Grilled Double Down totals 460 calories, 23g of fat and 1430mg of sodium."

KFC's Double Down

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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Nevermore

Yes, but does it contain Soilent Green?
pendraphen

I’m glad to see I’m not the first one here to make the “God help me, I would SO eat that thing” comment.
Anonymous

I live in Omaha, where they test marketed this.

For something so allegedly decadent, it was very blah. don’t bother.
reznicek111

The Double Down sounds gross and indulgent, but conceptually it’s just a greasier, cheaper, fast-food take on Chicken Cordon Bleu – fried batter-dipped chicken breast rolled around a ham and swiss cheese core. Granted, it’s made with bacon and faux-cheese, but who’d buy it or try it if it were called, say, “The Colonel’s Cordon Bleu”?
dfletcher

Needs a couple hamburger patties on there for the poultry-pork-beef trifecta!
Donald Petersen

Eh, this thing’s for lightweights. After all, if any of you have ever reached into a bucket of KFC, how often have you stopped after two pieces? Sure, the bacon and cheese add to the lethality, but come on already. Wendy’s Baconator features two quarter-pound beef patties, two slices of “cheese,” and six strips of bacon. Sounds almost reasonable to a red-blooded arteriosclerotic American, but that sucker will erode your lifespan to the tune of 970 calories and over 2200 mg of sodium. Burger King’s Double Stacker hits you with 560 calories… and that’s the small one. The Quad Stacker has a full 1000.

Y’all oughta swing by the corner of Lake Ave and Boylston St in Pasadena, CA sometime. You’ll find Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles right next door to a KFC, with a Popeye’s Chicken, McDonald’s, and Burger King all within waddling distance. And right across the street is Orean Health Express, an actual vegetarian fast-food drive-thru. I must add that I’ve never, ever seen a single car at their window.
El Scorcho

I’ll have mine with a diet coke because I’m on a diet. =P
nutbastard

i use food like this to determine how drunk i am.

if it seems unappealing, i’m barely lit. if it sounds delicious, then i’m pretty hammered. and if it circles around again to barfworthy, i know im completely and hopelessly destroyed.
Rob

540 calories? That sounds awfully low for that to me. I’d expect at least another 250, if not more.
- Anonymous
  
  it’s chicken breast not thigh….
  and i bet like most fast foods its a scrap of cheap thin bacon.
  
  that said they need to be making this with thigh.
Hawkman

That’s why you order the DIET soda with it.
Anonymous

mmmmmmm, mechanically recovered meat…
Donald Petersen

…but there’s always a wait at Roscoe’s. ;^9
Notary Sojac

“It WILL kill you….”

Despite the best efforts of the anxiety industry and the 24-7-365 news media, the human mortality rate remains stubbornly entrenched at 100 percent.
Anonymous

What’s the # of carbs?
ikoino

Wendy’s Baconator? Still holding out for Rudy Rucker’s Wendy Meat.
Anonymous

How about a peanut butter sandwich topped with a fried egg and a scoop of rocky road ice cream?

Take a days intake of food and put it in sandwich form and it may not look too different from one of these fast food monstrosities. So this isn’t my idea of healthy nutrition or enjoyment, so what? There’s a lot of stuff out there that people put in their body that are more toxic (take any alcoholic beverage for instance).

No, I think this sandwich might be something of a symbol for the inherent problems of a today’s collectivist attitude: If I claim the right to regulate what someone puts on their menu or what an individual puts in their body because of some perceived shared agenda or current populist trends, then where are the limits to controlling every facet of another individual’s existence?
das memsen

Okay okay, in all fairness to KFC, as much as I haven’t bought any food there or any other food chain in ages, I DID try some chicken from a KFC in Trinidad, and it was totally, totally different. I was told it’s because they use local chickens (cheaper than importing their beakless, clawless victims from the U.S.) and they have a completely different Trini “secret spice blend” that the Colonel had nothing to do with. It wasn’t nearly as greasy as I remember Kentucky Fried Chicken being, either. Not that I’m encouraging anyone to go there and try it (or to try the popular local dish of delicious deep fried shark) but I’ll give the Trinis props for turning KFC into something tasty.
Rich Keller

This… concoction has all the things our ancestors had a tough time getting on a regular basis; protein, fat and salt stacked together into one easy to chew chunklet. It might not be sensitive ecologically or rational to eat like this every meal, but our tatsebuds crave this sort of thing and only conditioning can override that craving.
- das memsen
  
  The same could be said of our desire to hit someone the minute they frustrate, scare, or anger us, but that doesn’t make our desire for peace pointless.
  
  Now take that basic desire for salt and fat, and run it through a very sophisticated zillion-dollar research lab that literally exists in order to come up with new ways of exploiting your penchant for the fried and buttery so that they can remove more and more of the green paper in your wallet, at the expense of everything else around you.
  
  Yeah, it does take a little self-discipline to fight such clever, powerful people, but realizing just how much these guys are playing us for suckers helps breaking that habit in a major way.
  - MadMolecule
    
    …exists in order to come up with new ways of exploiting your penchant for the fried and buttery so that they can remove more and more of the green paper in your wallet…
    
    Let’s put a different spin on “exploiting your penchant for the fried and buttery.”
    
    Instead, let’s call it “making things more delicious.”
Xander Crews

And here I wuz thinkin’ the internet and vidgamez were makin’ the peoples obese…

See y’all in surgery!
Anonymous

This sandwich is actually part of a government plot to make life awesomer. And shorter.
pencilbox

as per a post on the consumerist page…

If this had a bun around it and was called a double chicken sandwich, no one would bat an eye.

Also from that thread…

Compare that 540/32/1380 to …

BK Whopper w/Cheese 780/47/1380
Subway 6-inch Italian BMT 450/21/1770
McDs Big Mac 560/30/1010
Taco Bell 7-Layer Burrito 520/22/1270
Arby’s Philly Beef n’ Swiss 780/48/2188
Raj77

That’s probably better for you than the same thing with the white bread ’round the outside.
Rob

This looks more like fair or carnival food that you would get from a concession trailer or food stand. But I have to admit, I tried it and it’s pretty tasty eats. I’m thinking about giving it a go myself but using mushrooms and swiss in place of the bacon and fake American cheese.
JackThompson

The calorie count for that thing is waaaaay lower than it should be. It can’t be as big as it looks.

For comparison’s sake, a KFC snacker has 300 calories, with a bun and all that. So this thing, at 560 calories, is essentially 2 snackers, sans bread, plus bacon.

(My rule #3 of fast food is, beware sammiches photographed in 3/4 profile – that way disappointment lies)
dwdyer

You know, if KFC introduced a double chicken club sandwich — the same stuff but between two white-bread buns and probably a sizable dollop of mayo and maybe a tomato slice and maybe a wafer thin leaf of iceberg lettuce — this would get absolutely no press and people would not be climbing so much on the death food panic wagon.
Adam Fields

Ponder that this is a sandwich in which bacon is the healthiest ingredient.
Dewi Morgan

Damnitt. I wish I were in the US right now :(
ikoino

funny how the protein count is missing. Here are the Macro’s:

KFC Crispy Double Down sandwich Macros
Calories: 540
Fat: 32g
Carbs: 11g
Protein: 53g

KFC Grilled Double Down sandwich Macros
Calories: 460
Fat: 23g
Carbs: 3g
Protein: 61g

For the sake of Comparison, here is a meal bar sold in health food stores:
Maple Nut Pro Bar
Calories: 400
Fat: 22g
Carbs: 44g
Protein: 9g

The protein to carbs ratio on the KFC offering is awesome. Some fat is good because it helps protein delivery and buffer the glycemic load. The KFC sodium level is excessive, but overall the macros aren’t bad.

But, of course, it is commercial chicken. So, I’ll pass http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Industrial-Chicken-Coop.JPG
Neuron

You need to go to Pine State Biscuits in Portland, Oregon.
coolvoodoo

Now if they would just keep the outside of the fried chicken, get rid of the meat, and dip it in gravy! So I guess that would be fried chicken skin with bacon and cheese inside. With gravy. Oh yes.
UncaScrooge

The real problem with this is that it’s from KFC, the lowest end of low-end fried chicken fast food joints. Let’s face it, fast food restaurants take all the fun out of junk food. If I walked into a good soul food restaurant and they were serving this, I’d order one just for a treat.

KFC: You can taste the Cruelty(TM)
Jer

And yet even this monstrosity has less fat and fewer calories than a McDonald’s Big Mac.

The Big Mac has less sodium, though, for those who are concerned about their hypertension.
- babVU98i
  
  One can only expect that McD will take the hint and wrap the Big Mac in two, nay three – one in the middle too, pieces of breaded, deep fried chicken in lieu of the bun. Calculate the ‘nutritional’ label on that one!
Rich Keller

The people behind food like this are preying on instincts that we have to work really at hard to control. Their goal is to make as much money off of our desires as is possible. I wonder where advertizing would be today if it couldn’t appeal to base instincts.

das memsen, I like what you say about realizing that they’re treating us like suckers. I think that what you’re saying is that it’s better to be aware of how and why we might want something and its overall impact instead of caving in to immediate gratification.

I know I’d enjoy eating one of these, but after seeing Super Size Me, I don’t eat a lot of fast food.
ecobore

ummmm.. bacon…. cheese… and sweet sweet fried chicken… awww, I can feel me arteries hardenin’ just at the thought… luvlee!
gobo

But what about the legendary MEGA-LEG that Patton Oswalt swears is being test marketed?
Anonymous

I think the idea is to make everything else on their menu look healthier. You can eat anything you want as long as you don’t order that, and feel like you’re being good.
OuChTrOnX

OMGIWANT1!!!111 Man this puts my staple steamedchicken breast salad with no dressing to shame.

Such a shame that many great tasting things are so000 bad for you. I guess this is another step forward towards the burger from Boondocks [edit - omg it exists! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Burger ].
StRevAlex

It looks absolutely delicious, albeit unhealthy. And, apparently, “IT’S REAL!”
twobeeshawn

Does it come on a stick? I only eat food on sticks.
- Rich Keller
  
  There’s always the wrongilicious Chocolate-Covered Bacon on a Stick at the Wisconsin State Fair. That was tasty, but I didn’t want any more than the two pieces that you get for $3.50 or whatever it cost.
- blatantdisregard
  
  Just wait, once state fair season rolls around you’ll be able to find these babies deep fat fried in crispy batter served on one.
Felton

Real as a heart attack! Not that I wouldn’t try one at some point if it actually turns out to be made from real chicken. :^)
Anonymous

Not really that bad and compared to a 5 guys burger (700 calories, 43g fat, 430 sodium) it is darn right healthy. The only really bad number there is the sodium.
Anonymous

Why in the hell doesn’t anybody state how many carbs this thing has in the grilled version. If you’re somebody that can live a low carb life style, then there’s nothing to worry about (with the grilled one). That is if the carbs are low. But not one damn site has any freakin’ carb count on it.
Tony Moore

not gonna lie, dudes. i’m part of the problem. i’d totally eat the living shit out of that.
JohnCJ

I want one and I hate myself for wanting one.
bobjenz

I literally just got stomach pains reading this – coincidence?
AllisonWunderland

Nanny state fascism, but . . . New provisions in the health care reform require some food places to list the calorie/fat content in their menu.

I’d like to see a requirement that the calories/fat are listed in TV ads for ANY food. What’d be really neat is to have the calorie meter rolling as the cheeze sauce is being dripped over the bacon wrapped pork ribs.
aczarnowski

This is what people get worked up about these days? It’s not going to kill you. And you’re not being forced to buy it!
- AllisonWunderland
  
  It WILL kill you, and you don’t seem to grasp the concept of market determinism.
  
  Pork fat, or lard may be a choice, but it’s not much of a choice.
  
  Same/same with a Double Down or a “KFC Bowl” — which is mashed potatoes, corn, chicken nuggies, covered with gravy and cheeze (sic — it’s not real cheese).
cha0tic

I hope these are coming to the UK. I’ll be at least giving one a go.
leithh

That looks absolutely disgusting and I swear I can smell it…
Maggie Koerth-Baker

I actually have this noted on my calendar. “Eat horrible/wonderful chicken sandwich,” it’s a To-Do for April 12.
- MrsBug
  
  You’ll have to let us know how that turns out. After the stomach-pumping and ipecac and all, I mean. ;)
Rich Keller

Jokingly, I want to know if there’s a culinary equivalent to Godwin’s Law that states that any fast food thread eventually leads to the mention of the Luther Burger.
- OuChTrOnX
  
  Hilarious, and now that it’s been identified it makes sense. For me this was a Luther Burger Blog Mention 1st.
Anonymous

You’ll have to let us know how that turns out. After the stomach-pumping and ipecac and all, I mean. ;)

bacon and cheese
Anonymous

I hope this marks a comeback of real food without regards to nutrition. Don’t show me the calorie count just add more cheese….
freshacconci

Now they’re just trying to kill people.
Pantograph

It’s items such as this that make me wish Wesley Willis was still around. He would have made a great song about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWWsWP9bPAg
Not a Doktor

well I just got a boner
- Felton
  
  That’s not good. It’s supposed to be boneless chicken.
Anonymous

I like it when fast food companies don’t try to hide the fact that they’re making ridiculously unhealthy food. Things like the Double Down, the Monster Thickburger, and the Krispy Kreme donut-burger are fantastic because they’re deliberately audacious and unapologetic about the calorie count. This is a better and tastier path than things like the “Taco Bell Diet”. Good for you, KFC! Be what you are!
Anonymous

Taste test:

Gross. My tastebuds are tuned to junkfood, but this was too much for even me. I’ll come back when they reduce the sodium by about 1/2. I couldn’t even taste the bacon.

Really, it’s not that unhealthy as far as fast food goes – all it’s done is violate a sacred American doctrine about bread being the base of the sandwich. This is no more than what we’ve done to Mexican food or Chinese food by supersizing the stuffing and downsizing the starch.
dedgsus

This definitely belongs here… http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
das memsen

How is it that so many intelligent people still choose to do something so clearly unhealthy in so many ways? Bad for your body, bad for the animals involved, bad for our economic base, bad for the spiritual well-being of the country and world, bad for farming and agriculture, bad for the health care infrastructure, bad bad bad… oh, right, but greasy food is so yummy… go humanity!
- KremlinLaptop
  
  Spiritual well being of the country, er, how so? Why is this only limited to ‘the country’ by which I assume you mean America. Us over here on the rest of the world purchase, consume and enjoy fastfood too.
  
  Also, I choose to do many things that are unhealthy — though I rarely eat fastfood — it’s a matter of weighing the risks versus the benefits. Now while some of your listing of ‘bad’ things I won’t argue with, though I suppose I could, the there are these few I have issue with; why is it so distressing to you that people other than yourself do things that are damaging to their bodies and their, erm, spiritual well-being? After all, it’s their choice to do so.
  - das memsen
    
    Country= U.S. because KFC is primarily an American company, and this new food product is debuting in the U.S. I then mentioned world precisely for the reasons you stated.
    
    It distresses me that even in the supposedly-intelligent virtual meeting ground of boing boing, there are still plenty of junk-food apologists. I don’t recall saying these people should be stopped or that their freedom should be removed- simply that it’s a sad state of affairs that this is what they “freely” choose to eat (freely being a rather tenuous word, since there’s nothing free about our advertising-drenched society.) You don’t have to agree with me, but I’m not sure how one could reasonably argue the opposite. Especially in these days of information overload, I doubt anyone on this board is ignorant of where and how KFC Double Downs come from, at least in general enough terms to know better.
    - Anonymous
      
      KFC now a popular brand in China, so it is a bit more international that you might first expect.
- Anonymous
  
  I don’t understand the hate for this. As Jer pointed out, less calories, less fat, and way more protein than a Big Mac. Hell, looking at what it’s made of you’d be hard pressed to do better if you made it yourself. Could probably save some of the sodium, but fuck it. Seems like a winner for anybody on low carb or who wants a higher protein intake for lifting or what not. What makes this so terrible?
- Narual
  
  cn’t spk fr nyn ls, bt t lst prt f why ‘d d t s t gt rs t f ptght whnrs lk y.
  - das memsen
    
    Uptight would imply I’m upset and bothered and offended. I just happen to give a shit about the world I live in. But hey, go ahead, enjoy that heartburn why dontcha!
- Maggie Koerth-Baker
  
  I don’t really get the “spiritual well-being” part. I also disagree fundamentally that otherwise healthy people can’t indulge in a little deep-fried ridiculousness from time to time. You shouldn’t eat this stuff every day, no. Some people do, and that’s bad for them. But if you eat it as a Sometimes Food, you’re not exactly contributing to the health downfall of mankind, or yourself.
  
  That said, yeah, KFC uses chickens that have been treated shittily and other food that probably has not been grown in a sustainable way.
  
  But the solution to that? Make your own Double-Down with ingredients from the farmers market. YUM.
  - das memsen
    
    Well hey, making a delicious fried sandwich from food you get at a farmer’s market really has nothing to do with a KFC sandwich, or my comments, does it? I’m not saying people shouldn’t enjoy eating, just merely commenting on the number of “OMG I want to eat that RIGHT NOW i don’t care how bad it is” posts. Ever since I stared buying most of my food directly from farms, I’ve probably been eating MORE delicious feasts of grilled yumminess… but not only do I feel way healthier than I used to, I’m also completely aware of where my dollar is going. That awareness is the spiritual well-being I’m referring to, rather than the “I know how terrible this is but I can’t help myself” feeling most of us struggle with all the time. It’s not a holier-than-thou attitude, just a simple fact you no longer have to push to the back of your mind while you indulge.
GrymRpr

Ok… You cannot get their Baked beans anymore but they are now offering this mess?.
Random_Tangent

I’m gonna eat one of these things.

Hopefully just one. I may have to video tape the experience.
- Felton
  
  In the name of science!
Trent Hawkins

If the I-Pad was food, this is what it would look like.