Here it is, the 100th Tasty Lie. I’m honestly surprised I’ve kept it going even this long. I tend to lose interest in things fairly quickly. TastyLies.com has been fun though and it’s led to things like this…
That’s right, it’s the meal we all fear in our dreams, it’s Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (Though they go solely by KFC these days) Double Down Sandwich. The Double Down is a bacon and cheese sandwich. The difference is the bread isn’t bread…It’s two chicken fillets. And you have the option of going fried or grilled on your chicken. Naturally, we needed to try both. So let’s get to it!
There it is, in all its heart-stopping glory. The Double Down is a sandwich I’ve tried to con CoWorker Derek into trying many times. In the end it became a four-person taste-testing. Myself and CoWorkers Derek, Christen, and Marissa all shared two of these sandwiches, one grilled and one fried. The results follow.
FRIED CHICKEN DOUBLE DOWN!
It looks very similar to the advertising, though fried more lightly…Which I’d say is a good thing. You don’t want it to be overly greasy. The bacon also seems a lot smaller…In as much as you can’t see it. I’ll say that the sandwich was pieced together rather haphazardly. The bacon was all to one side of the sandwich, leaving half the sandwich bacon-less. I’m not sure it would’ve been noticed if we weren’t cutting the sandwich into pieces. Here’s a look at the inside of a piece:
It’s kind of a mess inside, but that’s to be expected with the melted cheese and sauce.
GRILLED DOUBLE DOWN!
KFC’s ‘grilled’ chicken is obviously somewhat better for you than their fried chicken. The taste was definitely different and whatever KFC is adding to this chicken does give it a grilled taste. This sandwich was assembled even worse than the fried one, with the breast fillets not even matching up as you can see. What did everyone think of these?
CoWorker Marissa:
After trying both, the grilled is DEFINITELY better. The original recipe one is SO salty (and I like my salt) that even having 1/4 of the sandwich was more than enough for me. I went into it thinking they would be pretty gross, but they aren’t that bad. They are just A LOT of chicken. Dense, dry chicken. Take one of the grilled pieces and throw it in a wrap with the sauce and cheese and that might be pretty good. Oh, and KFC, try actually crisping up the bacon past the limp mess we encountered.
Fried Chicken: Rating: 
Grilled Chicken: Rating:
CoWorker Christen:
It tastes pretty good. If you want to eat a lot of chicken, you’ll probably enjoy it. It is a little on the salty side overall; so with price and everything else considered, I’d give it 2.5 stars. Two pieces of meat do not a sandwich make, and it’s pretty much just too much meat. I guess it kind of makes sense in a way — more protein, less carbs — but I’m not training for wrestling or anything so it’s not for me. There’s nothing I find especially spectacular about it.
Fried Chicken: Rating: 
Grilled Chicken: Rating:
CoWorker Derek:
The sandwich didn’t look as intimidating as it did in the advertisements, but it is a lot of meat. It was basically 2 chicken breast and a piece of bacon. I need more veggies on my sandwiches. Grilled was slightly better.
Fried Chicken: Rating:
Grilled Chicken: Rating:
Me: I have to say, after all the buildup about how awful these are I have to agree…They awfulness didn’t meet the hype. However I didn’t really enjoy these. I love chicken. I eat a lot of chicken, but this was just too much chicken without any sort of break. Two thick pieces of chicken as the bread in a sandwich is just a bad idea. Especially when you throw some barely-cooked bacon in the middle. The salt factor was off the charts. And while the fried chicken wasn’t too greasy, I felt like the grease stuck with me throughout the day. My face even felt greasy all day. The grilled was definitely better, but not by much. Certainly not by enough to save this sandwich. I’ll definitely not be getting one of these again.
Fried Chicken: Rating:
Grilled Chicken: Rating:
Overall Ratings:
Fried Chicken: Rating: ¼
Grilled Chicken: Rating: ¾
Don’t forget it made your face greasy…glad I didn’t partake in this adventure!
You say your fried one was not that greasy. I must have got a very greasy one b/c it was dripping grease and very hot. It had just been finished when I finally got it. They messed up my order the first time I think. I’m not eating this ever again either. I can eat double burgers sometimes when i’m hungrier than normal, but this was too much. Seemed like even more meat and unhealthy than a double bacon cheeseburger to me.
I’m a fan of KFC, but this is one of the worst items on their menu. I’ve tried both before & found them quite lacking (particularly the sucky cheese, sauce & bacon). I’m always more of a fan of their real bone-in chicken pieces, but I can’t eat more than a few fried pieces without feeling sick. However, I do love their new grilled chicken despite the fact that it isn’t really grilled…good flavor & much healthier. Here in LA they have an ongoing great deal of 6pc-leg/thigh for $5…great satisfying meal!
I just wish they still carried the herb-roasted chicken they used to offer in the mid-90s! That was delicious!
Tim, I too miss the herb roasted KFC chicken. It was awesome.
John, thanks for the feedback. It really did seem like this one wasn’t as fried as it normally shoulod have been.
Heidi, thanks for the reminder. It’s been added.
Well done for getting to your 100th post.