The KFB Festive Tower Burger

For many years we at KFB have had a dream. A dream so beautiful and so potentially delicious that we've been afraid to put plans into motion to make that dream a reality. Well my chicken-loving readers, the time has come.

We for many years have felt that KFC are missing a huge trick by not offering a festive-themed burger over the Christmas season. In fact, we went as far as to share the idea for the burger you are about to witness with the head of product development during our famous HQ visit a couple of years ago (has it really been that long already?). Sadly, and some might say foolishly, they just weren't willing to listen. KFB believes the only man who would have been willing to take note of such a radical and genius idea would have been our Lord Sanders himself.

The idea is simple: take all the core elements that make a traditional Christmas dinner so fantastic, remove the bland items such as dry turkey or soggy sprouts and combine with all that makes KFC so wondrous. Our ingredients list was as follows:

• Chicken fillet pieces
• Stuffing
• Roast potato
• Gravy
• Cranberry sauce
• Spinach
• Buns

And now the construction could begin in earnest. Our first job was to prep the potatoes which were to function as a hash brown replacement. These were cut into 8mm thick slices, covered in oil and seasoned before being roasted in a hot oven. To accompany them in their fiery furnace was stuffing and of course, the chicken. Top tip: be sure to use chicken fillet pieces rather than the far inferior reconstituted pieces that are so prevalent in our supermarkets and often coated in a deceptively tempting sounding 'southern fried coating'.

Next up came the all important assembly - an exercise that has turned so many otherwise delicious Zinger Towers into a sticky, uneven mess. We started by spreading cranberry sauce on the top bun half and carefully laying spinach leaves on the bottom. This was followed by the chicken, roast potato slice, stuffing patty and a generous helping of gravy. Disclaimer: We did in fact use the Colonel's own wonder-liquid in our burger, if only because we have never tasted a home-made gravy that could match the consistency or taste.

All that was left to do now was to place the top bun upon our mound of lip-smackingly succulent sustenance. Et voila!

And so onto the tasting. The most immediate problem we faced who how on earth to eat the thing - our mouths sadly only being the size of an average human's rather than some kind of huge monster's. Once we'd overcome this issue with some gentle squashing, we took our first bite. A rush of festive flavours immediately brought to mind Christmas trees, snowy scenes and glowing stars in the night sky (though this was perhaps something to do with the Christmas music in the background). It was highly enjoyable, the stuffing providing a nice texture contrast with the crispy potato and the saltiness of the chicken being balanced by the sharp, sweet cranberry. 

Not everything was A1 though - the chicken was of course nowhere near the standards we've come to expect from the Colonel and though certainly yummy, the stuffing was slightly bland and sloppy. Had we had more time, creating our own chicken coating and sausagemeat-based stuffing would have alleviated such concerns.

The verdict: 7/10

But could have very easily nudged its way up to a supreme 9 with home-made chicken coating, sausagemeat stuffing and perhaps even a little bacon.

For other home-recreations be sure to view our Toasted Twister, Double Down and Zinger Tower recreations.

Double Down Recreation

Anyone with even the slightest interest in the fried chicken food market will surely have heard the news about the "Double Down", the fabled double chicken sandwich which was rumoured and being tested by KFC as far back as last August. If you aren't aware (and if you're reading this you really should be) the Double Down is a chicken sandwich/burger of monstrous construction...I'll leave it to the official KFC US website description and promotional pic to explain the details:

The new KFC Double Down sandwich is real and it's coming April 12th! This one-of-a-kind sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!

Well, the good news is they are actually making it and you can go into any KFC and buy one...delicious! The bad news...it's only coming out in America *sob*. We here at KFB have investigated and called in to the mothership, at UK KFC headquarters in Woking. Our contact there told us in no uncertain terms:

"...we have no plans to bring the Double Down to Britain at present."

A great shame, but we can hope that if it's a huge success in the states, we might at least see it tested in the UK eventually. Here at KFB however, we can't resist the allure of a new KFC product - especially one that has sparked so much interest and caused such controversy. If only there was a way we could try a Double Down in the UK....oh but wait, there is a way! We have the ingredients, let's recreate it!

So today I set foot into KFC in Bethnal Green, London to pick up the ingredients. There are admittedly a few limitations here: firstly, Bethnal Green KFC is a halal branch and as a result, doesn't sell any product with bacon. I would have to leave this out for the recreation. Secondly, I would have to settle for the single cheese slice that comes in the Fillet Tower burger, rather than the Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese slices in the real DD. Finally, we are missing the crucial Colonel's Sauce. One BIG plus though...I could throw in the hash brown from the Fillet Tower burger to sweeten the deal.

So, taking the Original Recipe fillet breast of chicken from a Fillet Burger and Tower Burger, plus the cheeses slice and hash brown from the Tower Burger, I was able to recreate what is essentially a modified Double Down.



The big question: How did it taste? Biting into the Double Down (recreation) was like a dream come true. With any normal burger the bun serves as a mere containing vessel for the contents, the real meat (as it were) of the meal. Of course, we love the kasier bun used in the Fillet, Tower and Zinger burgers but when all is said and done, the peak of flavour and taste comes when you hit the filling. With the DD, the taste sensation is immediate and the Original Recipe flavours are the first thing you experience. This is complimented finally in a climactic sensory overload by the delicious filling (in my case, hash brown and cheese). I can only imagine what the real thing would taste like with the Colonel's special sauce.



Ignoring health and dietary implications (as we always do here at KFB), the DD as sampled by my recreation is everything we have come to expect from the Colonel, but doubled up. The Double Down is set for huge success, and I for one welcome the day when it arrives on our shores. Next up, a recreation of the Double Down with the same filling as the real thing...and while we're at it...how about a Zinger version??

Toasted twister home recreation: attempt 1

Sometimes, as Albad rightly pointed out, a trip to KFC, no matter how tempting, is simply impossible. You might be in an area with no KFC's within the minimum 20 mile radius, you might be unable to leave the house, or, like me; you were curious- you wanted to walk the zen path of KFC and recreate the colonels early experimental years yourself, attempting to make delicious chicken dishes nearly as good as could be served to you in any upstanding kfcookery in the kfcountry.

Ingredients for attempt 1 (again, all available at Sainsburys for the sake of tradition (not every ingredient is necessary for variants))

Southern fried chicken breast fillets
Sainsburys hot salsa
Bacon
Ranch dressing
Salad
Cheese -here I'm using red Leicester
Mayo, pepper (for KFC's signature pepper mayo, see right)
tortilla wraps.

I had more than enough ingredients pictured here to make multiple toasted twister variants - namely the original, salsa and the new melted BLT. Obviously ingrediants will vary based on your choice of what to construct.

Construction


This was a more experimental affair than previous documentation
on this site of reKFCreations, so subsequent attempts should prove neater and more reasonably portioned than this. I'll initially describe how to prepare the new melted BLT variant.

Begin by starting to cook the chicken, which should take around 20 minutes. Around the last 5 minutes of cooking, you should be putting on the bacon to cook - ensure that it's crispy and firm by the time you want to place it in your wrap. I advise grilling, especially as you'll need to gently toast your wrap later.

While you're waiting for all your ingredients to cook, it might be a good idea to start preparing the wrap. Wash your salad and chop your cheese (or remove it from it's packaging) as well as laying out your tortilla wrap.

When the chicken is cooked, remove it and slice it thinly enough to fit in your wrap. Add a little salad on top, the bacon slices, a little
salsa to recreate the original dishes tomato, and finally a drizzle of ranch dressing for authenticity. Now close up the wrap and toast it gently (overtoast it and it will become brittle as an osteogenesis imperfecta patients bones... have I been watching too much House again?). And... voila! it should be finished.

The verdict 6.5/10 + 7.5/10


While obviously the same complaints as always apply - chiefly the chicken not being up to the colonels high standards, the overall effect, taste and presentation-wise was extremely similar to the real wraps. The original toasted twister salsa recipe had a slight edge over it's rival however (just remove the cheese and bacon and add the pepper mayo seen above), but this may have been due to the fact that both the portion size and cooking times were slightly adjusted for the latter wrap, whereas the melted BLT was a giant even by stomach standards - the thing took two hands to lift, two tortilla wraps to hold it and literally two people to eat it. Hold back on the portions used KFC fans - you'll end up with a better wrap out of it. Subsequent attempts might show the melted blt to be the superior wrap with the greater experience gleaned from this experimental feastery.


This weekend, while in the process of seeking out the vast amounts of food necessary to support my titantic, KFC-and-lager wrought body, I'll be providing both a review of one of Brighton's 2 KFC branches as well as an overview of the real melted BLT toasted twister at the same time. See you then!

Zinger Tower Home Recreation: Attempt 1

You know how it is. You've had a hard slog at the office, headed back to the house for an evening in front of the TV and a sudden KFC hunger pang strikes. Trouble is, your nearest outlet is far from easily accessible and your utter lack of energy prevents you from taking the walk into town. The solution: create your own Zinger Tower burger.

Ingredients for attempt 1 (all Sainsburys brand unless otherwise indicated):
Southern fried chicken breast pieces
Processed cheese slices
McCains hash browns
Hot salsa
Iceberg lettuce
Soft, sesame seed topped white baps

Construction Poor construction is an all too common problem with the Zinger Tower. Start with the buns. Spoon a small amount of salsa onto the bottom bun, place the chicken on top and quickly add the cheese - you'll want it to start melting slightly. Next: hash browns (we had to use 2 of this variety). Top off with lettuce and a moderate spoonful of Mayo for the lid of the bun.

The verdict: 6/10
Don't get us wrong, this was a tasty burger indeed. However, without the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices it just wasn't quite right. The hash browns were slightly too thick, causing their flavour to overpower the burger. We also found the buns slightly too noticeable. In the real deal, the bun's main function is to hold the other ingredients in place. Here, it was too large.

For the inevitable next attempt we'll be using the finest quality Marks and Spencers ingredients we can lay our hands on