The Most Popular Fast Food Fried Chicken Sandwiches, Ranked

Official Menu Description: "A tender and juicy crispy chicken breast filet with fresh tomato, crisp leaf lettuce and mayonnaise. All atop our delectable artisan roll."—McDonald's website

Verdict: That delectable artisan bun they speak of is just a super-sweet, gag-inducing creation that the tongue ultimately rejects. The chicken itself was forgettable, especially under soggy lettuce, limp tomato and too much mayonnaise.

Official Menu Description: "Our Original Chicken Sandwich is made with white meat chicken, lightly breaded and topped with a simple combination of shredded lettuce and creamy mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun."—Burger King website

Verdict: This was overloaded with mayo, so depending on your feelings about the divisive condiment, that's either a big positive or huge negative. The chicken is really all about the breading, which overpowers the spongy, thin-chicken patty with its salty seasoning.

Official Menu Description: "Mankind's greatest foods combined: a boneless breast filet of the Colonel's Original Recipe covered with bacon, topped with Monterey Jack and sauce and served on a sweet Hawaiian bun."—KFC's website

Verdict: Sweet Hawaiian bun indeed. We probably should have been better prepared for the sweetness of the bun, and it definitely stood out, just not in a good way. The chicken has that classic KFC spice, which we can't resist, plus the cheese and bacon win points for showing up. Pretty standard, if not solid.

Official Menu Description: "Two handcrafted tenders on a French baguette, loaded with lettuce, pickles, and mayo."—Popeyes'website

Verdict: The chicken on this was actually very good—one of our tasters said they wanted to pull the chicken out of the sandwich and eat it without the bun. The breading is heavy and well-seasoned, making for a satisfying crunch. The chicken itself was on the drier side, which must have contributed to the crunch, but the dryness must still be noted. The pickle was a little overwhelming, and there was a lot of lettuce, so we'd recommend ditching the bun and eating it like a fried chicken salad.

Official Menu Description: "A tender, breaded chicken patty topped with crisp lettuce and creamy mayo done Wendy's way—delicious. Crispy chicken never had it so good."—Wendy's website

Verdict: This sandwich has a thicker patty of chicken with great crisp. The bun is a little much and fairly bland, but not inoffensive. The lettuce was actually crisp on this one and there was just enough mayo to do the job. It's a perfectly fine chicken sandwich.

Official Menu Description: "A boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, hand-breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttered bun with dill pickle chips."—Chick-fil-A's website

Verdict: Now we're talking—this simple sandwich really lets the chicken shine, according to one of our tasters. The bun delivers a pleasant buttery flavor that pairs great with the light and crisp breading on the incredibly tender chicken. One taster thought that the pickle imparts a strong dill flavor, making condiments uneccesary. Although the company's politics inspired immense feelings of guilt, we can't deny this is a damn tasty sandwich.

Official Menu Description: "The Chick'n Shack is a crispy all-natural and antibiotic-free chicken breast with lettuce, pickles and buttermilk herb mayo."—Shake Shack's webiste

Verdict: The sandwich that inspired our fried chicken sandwich-off immediately took its place in our hearts from the first bite. Shake Shack's winning combo of Martin's Potato Rolls and quality ingredients does it again, and features a HUGE, crunchy chicken patty that feels like a substantial meal. The seasoning has a little spice, which is especially nice with the squishy bun. The mayo is just enough and not too gloppy and there's plenty of pickles for those that are fans. Basically, now that this baby has moved from Brooklyn, we're confident it will take over the fried chicken game everywhere it goes.