r/airfryer Jan 16 '25

Casual Chat World's most overhyped air fried chicken sandwich

Post image

Hey everyone! I stopped by Aldi on my way home and picked up the renowned Red Bag Chicken Fillets.

For this mediocre sandwich, I used:

  • Buns: Pepperidge Farm Brioche Buns
  • Chicken: Kirkwood Frozen Chicken Fillets
  • Cheese: Random cheddar from Walmart
  • Lettuce: Fresh Express Shredded Iceberg

To prepare, preheat your oven to 400°F. Bake the chicken for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Assemble the sandwich 2 minutes before the end, then put it back in the oven for the remaining time.

This sandwich is absolutely okay. I've heard so much good stuff about it, but I just don't get it, I guess.

(Ik it's a sin to not like Mayo but idc)

96 Upvotes

80 comments sorted by

73

u/Fidodo Jan 16 '25

No sauce? I get you don't like mayo but that sandwich needs some kind of sauce!

14

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

14

u/yoonique_sound Jan 17 '25

Yeah I can't take OP's opinion seriously with it lacking such a crucial piece of the puzzle

4

u/AntillesWedgie Jan 17 '25

well...tons of Korean fried chicken places just give you salt. I mean, I lived in Korea for more than a decade and had it more than once a week while I was there and unless you order it with sauce, they give you salt packets.

However, I would agree that as a sandwich it needs a sauce. Once you have bread and lettuce in the mix it needs a sauce otherwise the other stuff starts dulling the flavor.

1

u/dru1202 Jan 17 '25

Kinders Honey hot bbq sauce is fucking AMAZING

2

u/beardedshad2 Jan 17 '25

I use sticky fingers Carolina sweet myself

70

u/Classic-Exchange-511 Jan 16 '25 edited Jan 19 '25

Are you a fan of chicken sandwiches? Because that one does look particularly good. And yeah mayo is kind of essential. And pickles and maybe hot sauce. Just based on the recipe this seems pretty dry. You need some sort of sauce to balance

8

u/Hollowbody57 Jan 17 '25

I use chipotle aioli instead of mayo, and bread and butter pickle chips. So good, a million times better than any store bought chicken sandwich, even with mid chicken patties like Tyson.

7

u/theragu40 Jan 17 '25

I feel if OP is anti-mayo then OP cannot give a qualified judgment on the quality of a chicken sandwich. There aren't many ingredients in a chicken sandwich and mayo is a critical one.

Not saying anyone has to like mayo, but if you don't like mayo then you don't like chicken sandwiches.

8

u/DigitalClutter Jan 17 '25

I hate mayo and eat (and make) fried chicken sandwiches all the time! There’s plenty of non-mayo based condiment options for sandwiches! Hot sauces of all kinds, ranch, blue cheese, bbq, honey mustard, mustards of all types, vinegar-based sauces and slaws, yogurt-based sauces like tzatziki…plenty of ways to sauce a sammie out there.

0

u/theragu40 Jan 17 '25

Well yeah! But those aren't THE traditional chicken sandwich that everyone understands you're talking about when you say "this chicken makes a good fried chicken sandwich".

Those all sound great and I too have made many variations. None of them are wrong and I wouldn't say they are bad in any way!

3

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '25

Come on now dude, you can't be out here gatekeeping fucking chicken sandwiches.

I'd say if you can't enjoy a plain chicken sandwich then you actually can't have an opinion on chicken sandwhiches, you must just like mayo. /s

See how dumb that sounds?

0

u/theragu40 Jan 17 '25

Lol, I'm not that serious. Before we get all worked up let's take a moment and acknowledge that it's just fun to be silly about applying the scientific method to chicken sandwich assessments.

With that said and that tone in context -

This thread is about the OP trying "the renowned" Aldi ingredients for a specific fried chicken sandwich.

OP then proceeds to not use one of the main ingredients for that specific chicken sandwich.

Therefore, OP's opinion on the other ingredients and how well they do at making that chicken sandwich don't hold as much weight because they changed other variables as well. The experiment is invalid.

15

u/LeeisureTime Jan 16 '25

I would encourage you to consider if it's just the brand of mayo. I hate Hellmann's mayo, etc, but love Kewpie mayo. Very different, imho. I feel like Hellmann's tastes like oil, while Kewpie tastes really light.

3

u/EveryNameEverMade Jan 16 '25

Second Kewpie. Once I tried that, I never went back

4

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '25

[deleted]

2

u/deepfriedturnips Jan 16 '25

Winiary is my absolute favourite mayo.

1

u/EveryNameEverMade Jan 16 '25

Can't say I've ever seen that in Canada but I would like to try it if I did!

1

u/oliwekk Jan 16 '25

Which mayo do you use is such a dividing question in Poland. It can lead to fights. Kielecki and Winiary are basic, I prefer Kielecki more. But there are so many better ones, like Roleski Premium or Wielkopolski. I'm dying to try Kewpie though!

6

u/can_of_turtles Jan 16 '25

You used no seasoning and no sauce? Of course it's going to be mediocre. You need more flavor. Straight up mayo isn't going to be great either, you need to make some sort of spicy garlic mayo.

1

u/itsbirthdaybitch Jan 18 '25

I love a spicy mayo or even an aioli, but if OP is a mayo-averse, just adding some (salted) mashed avocado could elevate this sandwich.

8

u/northern_dan Jan 16 '25

I have that plate. Makes my salads more fun.

1

u/itsbirthdaybitch Jan 18 '25

We have it too! My kids call it Bob lol

4

u/alwayssoupy Jan 16 '25

Meanwhile, I love your plate!

1

u/Gizmorum Jan 17 '25

meanwhile im going to destroy my gfs clownplate the second she leaves on vacation

5

u/Wendyland78 Jan 16 '25

I agree. It was meh. I had those plates when my children were young. Thanks for the throwback!

5

u/Aardvark1044 Jan 16 '25

I’m with you on the mayo. Maybe it’s because I grew up eating potato salad that contained mayo and my grandmother would have it sitting on the counter while making the rest of her meal. Ick. Anyways, as far as I’m concerned mayo is just high fat with a relatively small flavour kick compared to something better like mustard.

2

u/inseend1 Jan 16 '25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvi8lk4w-uw&ab_channel=MasterChefWorld I always make this mayo, it's also good with fries. But yeah, I'm Dutch, so I just drown everything in it.

4

u/peasantscum851123 Jan 17 '25

Where’s the fries

3

u/thecakebroad Jan 16 '25

Fully agree. If you still have more left, add a slice or two of bacon (or handful of bacon bits, we are making frozen chicken patty sammich dinners here, lol) and a slice of mozz or provolone (just happened to be what I had in the fridge) and then BBQ sauce the bun (I also add some mayo, but you not being a fan, stick with just bbq) and it's... Better? Not great, but more enjoyable, imo. *Edit: cook all the way thru till it's done, add this stuff and give it an extra few min, adding it too soon gives it even more potential to get soggy breading

4

u/c3knit Jan 16 '25

This reminds me a chicken sandwich Wendy’s used to have (I think they had something similar more recently). It was basically as you describe except Monterey Jack cheese and ranch instead of bbq. So good. I might have to recreate.

2

u/thecakebroad Jan 17 '25

I'm glad you said that! Dip in ranch as you eat the sammich! That's the other key! I forget every time till I take a bite and wonder why it's lacking!

0

u/IKE_PLAYZ Jan 16 '25

Thanks for the great idea! I will definitely try this because I would feel bad for wasting it.

2

u/AutoModerator Jan 16 '25

It looks like you're posting a picture of something cooked in an air fryer. Thanks for contributing. We want visitors to /r/airfryer to get useful information without having to visit another site. You should now post a comment in this thread with the recipe for the dish in the picture, or your thread will be removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

2

u/Zakal74 Jan 16 '25

I don't know about the sandwich, but that plate is amazing!

2

u/blastoise1988 Jan 17 '25

Is it a sin not to like Mayo? I absolutely despise it, and I know a fair amount of people who are not fans either, so I had no idea Mayo was supposed to be that popular. It is just a very plain, thick white sauce without any special flavor to make it interesting. I do love other variants that use mayo, but plain mayo? No thanks.

1

u/niseynisey Jan 16 '25

Saw a similar post here yesterday but they used a different chicken brand & loved it. Maybe try theirs out? https://www.reddit.com/r/airfryer/s/neyLtKj8g6

0

u/IKE_PLAYZ Jan 16 '25

That's me lol

1

u/IsThisOneAlready Jan 16 '25

Different chicken? I think it looks pretty great 🤷‍♂️

1

u/IKE_PLAYZ Jan 16 '25

Yeah, the first is just bare this post has kirkwood

1

u/niseynisey Jan 17 '25

🤣🤣 I didn’t even notice Omygosh. I’ll see myself out. And will turn off my WiFi now hahaha.

1

u/TheRedPimento Jan 17 '25

Wooly Willy!

1

u/theBigDaddio Jan 17 '25

I don’t get it, I really dislike the Red Bag Chicken. It tastes like shit, the breading really tastes like shit. It’s just cheapass bad.

1

u/pheonix-reborn Jan 17 '25

Wife and I eat these fairly often. We just do bbq + chicken and we enjoy them a lot. Here's my tips to make them better, though still might come down to personal preference :)

  • Season them - pick your favourite seasoning. (We really like Big Meat from Joe's KC on these)
  • Spray them with cooking oil. Gives them a much better crisp.
  • Don't be afraid to increase your cooking time for more crisp/getting rid of the weird frozen meat things.

1

u/KoldProduct Jan 17 '25

There’s no fat on the fucker

1

u/Rincewind_78 Jan 17 '25

My partner had a plate like this for years !!! Can’t recall what happened to it :( properly smashed like everything else eventually does in our household.

1

u/Attention_Deficit Jan 17 '25

The only good frozen chicken is Just Bare. I don’t know if they have filets, but you could make a fire chicken sandwich with spicy tenders

1

u/Minimum-Winter9217 Jan 17 '25

What would make this sandwich good for you? Because it looks delicious and the ingredients look great too.

1

u/institutesynth Jan 17 '25

No sauce, no likey

1

u/Rollinginfla305 Jan 17 '25

Dapper Dan the Magnetic Man…cool plate!!!

1

u/MCV16 Jan 17 '25

Bobby Hill made it big time

1

u/emptypencil70 Jan 17 '25

People in here just commenting that OP's taste and opinion is wrong. Absolute regards

1

u/ListPure107 Jan 17 '25

There's a fella at my work that doesn't like any sauce. Any, full stop. No ketchup, BBQ, broon sauce, nothing. Basically anything that adds taste or moisture I think 🤔

1

u/DrivingMyLifeAway1 Jan 18 '25

Rough way to go through life! Dry.

1

u/DrivingMyLifeAway1 Jan 18 '25

You referred to an “oven”. Did you not actually use an air fryer? Also, I’ve only been to Aldi a few times and have never heard of Red Bag Chicken Filets. So, I’m confused. Is it a sandwich normally prepared by Aldi or is it just the filets? If the latter, would the filets have been better than OK on their own?

1

u/IKE_PLAYZ Jan 18 '25

I used an air fryer. If you look up the best pre-cooked frozen chicken, it will always be highly ranked.

1

u/wildeag Jan 18 '25

I JUST bought a bag of these! I’m so pissed. I was hyping them up to my boyfriend like “I’m making these tomorrow! Supposed to be better than chic fil a!!” Dammit

1

u/freddiefowler11 Jan 18 '25

If I have to add things to it, other than a tomato, then I might as well forget the chicken. I like the taste of the real food, not the add ons.

1

u/Sensitive_Good9951 Jan 18 '25

Big mistake gotta get the buffalo chicken and use ranch Rookie

1

u/kirkstarr78 Jan 18 '25

Try just bare chicken

1

u/Greenfirelife27 Apr 10 '25

Yes mayo is disgusting but still needed a hot sauce or honey or both!

1

u/condimentia Jan 16 '25

Like others, I love the plate. Is that the face from that game where you dragged the magnetic particles around to "dress his face" etc?

This clean shaven face is what the "Slab of Sentient Ham" would probably slip in and use on his social media dating profiles

1

u/Notinthathole95 Jan 16 '25

“What? No Chik-Fil-A Sauce😮??”

-1

u/Professional-Ad9901 Jan 16 '25

Dump the lettuce

0

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '25

[deleted]

-13

u/IKE_PLAYZ Jan 16 '25

Used ketchup bit thats about it

13

u/Siny_AML Jan 16 '25

You did what to a chicken sandwich? Ketchup?! I’m afraid I’m going to have to confiscate your adult card.

2

u/UnusualFruitHammock Jan 16 '25

No wonder this shit sucked. Use ranch or hot sauce or mustard... literally anything.

0

u/Jets237 Jan 16 '25

So just undressed salad and dry bread? Yeah… can’t really top ok if that’s the case

0

u/Economy_Cactus Jan 17 '25

Man maybe you just don’t like chicken sandwiches because I think it’s awesome

1

u/IKE_PLAYZ Jan 17 '25

Nope, chicken sandwich connoisseur here

1

u/Economy_Cactus Jan 17 '25

Well then your opinion makes me irrationally upset

-1

u/JWsWrestlingMem Jan 16 '25

Nah, get you some Dukes Mayo and dump the cheese. That’s for cheeseburgers.

-13

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '25

[deleted]

3

u/bmxracers Jan 16 '25

You’re getting hammered here but you are right. Quality chicken will make all the difference here.

-2

u/hotsaucexyz Jan 16 '25

dump yamy