Few foods are able to capture the incontestable satisfaction of a flaky, buttery biscuit. A straightforward combination of flour, butter, milk, salt, and baking powder, biscuits somehow marry unpretentious simplicity with the richness of texture and taste. That said, not every biscuit is created equally. Some can lean a bit dry, others are too dense, too salty, or not quite salty enough.
“The perfect biscuit is buttery and flaky. It’s a little moist yet dry enough to sop up some good gravy or go well with jam,” says Lexis Gonzales, a private chef and caterer. “I like the height of my biscuit where you see the layers of butter create the lines on the sides. It should have a golden brown top, and I even add a honey butter glaze to give it a sheen.”
Private chefs like Gonzales and bakeries have certainly figured out how to nail the recipe every time, but there are also a handful of fast food chains that have perfected the art of biscuit making, as well. Ahead, we’re showcasing six fast-food chains that serve up some of the most delicious biscuits.
Popeyes
Did you know that Popeyes original name was actually Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits? This fast food chain, headquartered in Louisiana, might have dropped the extra words from its title, but the biscuits are a menu staple and a continued favorite among diners.
Popeyes buttermilk biscuits deliver a soft and fluffy interior with a perfectly crisp exterior. Chef Claude Booker, who grew up in rural South Carolina and knows his way around a biscuit, says, “Buttermilk elevates the flavor of biscuits. It provides this subtle hint of sourness that is so faint, but it elevates your taste buds so you’re eager for the next bite.”
You can purchase the biscuits a la carte all day long, and it’s also incorporated into a handful of bundled meals, including the 10-piece Signature Chicken Bundle and Shrimp Tackle Box Combo. Add some dipping sauce and you’ll be in biscuit heaven.
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With restaurants concentrated all over the South, it’s no surprise to see Bojangles on this list of best fast food biscuits. The chain specializes specifically in Southern-style fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits, and it makes the bulk of its food from scratch each day. That includes its biscuits, which are exclusively made by the restaurant’s “Master Biscuit Makers” and require a super in-depth process to ensure each flaky biscuit is nothing short of perfection.
Bojangles’ vice president of menu and culinary innovation said in a recent interview, “Our biscuits are our pride and joy, which is why we’ve worked so hard to perfect the recipe that now includes a whopping 49 steps, so you know it’s made with love.”
This roundup of fast food chains serving the best biscuits would be remiss without the inclusion of KFC. Southern-style comfort food is the name of the game for this eatery, and the Colonel wouldn’t settle for anything less than a perfectly flaky biscuit.
Served warm, the biscuits have a sort of misshaped look and texture that lends an authentic homestyle appeal, and they boast a flaky outside and soft interior. You can order them as a side dish or enjoy them alongside combo meals.
The biscuits are so popular that countless foodies have tried to replicate KFC’s famous biscuits—like this one from CopyKat and this one from Food.com. There’s clearly no shortage of recipe replica attempts online, but you’ll only get the real deal at the restaurant.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s may conjure visions of Big Macs and chicken McNuggets, but this iconic fast food chain is a champ when it comes to breakfast. Just ask the countless people who happily wait in line for their fix every morning.
Part of the reason why their breakfast lands with so many is because of their soft and buttery biscuits. The biscuits are used in a handful of the chain’s breakfast sandwiches, including the Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit, Sausage Biscuit, and Sausage Biscuit with Egg. They’re also served as part of the breakfast platters.
And here’s a fun fact: Plenty of Mcdonald’s make their biscuits from scratch on location, and it’s no small feat. A current job listing—which involves coming in before the sun rises—reads, “Are you an ‘Early Bird’?” A McDonald’s biscuit maker comes into McDonald’s every morning at 3 a.m. to prepare hot, delicious, made-from-scratch biscuits that bring customers back the next day!”
Calling biscuit lovers who have a bit of a sweet tooth, Church’s Chicken Honey Butter Biscuit takes a standard biscuit and gives it a sugary twist via a drizzle of gooey honey butter.
“I love a biscuit with honey butter. It’s the perfect note of savory and sweetness,” says Chef Gonzales. Church’s Chicken honey butter biscuits are made in small batches all day long, which means their biscuits are one of the first things you smell when walking through the restaurant doors.
The Honey-Butter Biscuit is sold a la carte and is also a side item in many of the restaurant’s combos, including the Butterfly Shrimp Meals, Mixed Meals, and family-sized meals.
Burgers are the M.O. for Whataburger, but this fast food chain also serves up a seriously delicious buttermilk biscuit. It makes sense when you learn that Whataburger is headquartered in Texas, and that the chain is especially popular in southern states.
You can buy the biscuit as a singular item, or enjoy it with a number of the chain’s breakfast foods, including the Egg and Cheese Biscuit, Biscuit with Bacon, and Breakfast Bowl. Perhaps the most tantalizing menu item, though, is Whataburger’s Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, which layers on a chicken strip and some mouth-watering honey butter.
The menu item is so beloved that a fan took it upon themselves to start a petition on Change.org to make Whataburger’s honey butter chicken biscuits available for 24 hours versus just in the morning. The petition reads, “Whataburger, from all Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit enthusiasts, please make the sandwich available all 24 hours of the day. You will be pleasing so many people, and making a smart economic decision.”
Chick-fil-A
You might have noticed a running theme here: The fast food chains that specialize in southern comfort foods and fried chicken really know their way around a biscuit recipe. Enter: Chick-fil-A’s freshly baked buttered biscuit.
It moonlights as a simple, humble menu item, but promises mouthwatering delight thanks to a traditional buttermilk recipe that lends to a light golden finish and fluffy texture.
Shona Jonson—a senior manager who leads Chick-fil-A’s menu team—says that the biscuits are handmade from scratch at most restaurants every day. But to ensure restaurant-goers get the freshest bite of biscuit, they make the biscuits all day long. Jonson says, “Every 30 minutes, it is time to roll the dough.”
You can go for a plain version, but we argue that a light spread of silky butter takes this biscuit to the next level. Also, make sure to try the Chicken Biscuit, which is the chain’s top-selling breakfast item.
This content was originally published here.
