If McDonald’s took its chicken sandwich menu and made it into one of those evolution progress pictures of the monkey slowly crawling out of the sludge and walking upright, the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich would be somewhere on the right side, while dollar menu stalwart McChicken would be somewhere on the left.
That’s not to trash the McChicken, of course. On some days I would rather be a half-fish, half-monkey thing wandering around just chillin’, eating snacks on an island. Maybe I’ll eat a coconut today. Maybe I’ll eat some sand. Can I digest sand? Oh, it’s time for bed? G’nite!
The Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich boasts a buttermilk crispy chicken filet, an artisan roll, tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise. That’s only a handful of ingredients, which is good news, because I can’t count past five. (My developmental years were spent eating McDonald’s.) But the low number also means they are putting stock into each element. It mostly pays off.
The chicken patty itself has a particularly fine breading and a nice uniform texture throughout the meat. The breading is also a bit grittier, which gives each bite a little more crunch. At first taste, it comes off a bit over-salted, but as the entire sandwich is taken in, the flavor seems to even out. The protein is a step up in quality from the other chicken offerings, but it’s unclear what part buttermilk actually plays in the cooking process. Doused? Marinated? Friends with benefits? Admired from afar for many years?
The artisan roll is the same one featured on all the other premium McDonald’s sandwiches. It’s soft, chewy, and a suitable springboard for this sandwich. The tomato is unspectacular but inoffensive and the lettuce has a decent snap that breaks up the monotony. In fact, the entire item is a textural success, with almost every bite featuring a spectrum of feelings, like a teenage romance.
If there is a complaint, it is of the mayonnaise. I will concede that on my particular sandwich the construction was uneven—the “mayonnaise dressing” was applied in a glob on one side and sparsely on the other. So your mileage may vary, but my bites that contained the mayo spread were pretty overpowering. They actually reminded me a lot of the taste of the McChicken, which is often doused in the stuff like it came out of a fire hose. That treatment seems especially egregious since this sandwich is around three bucks more than the McChicken.
The quality is there and so is the price. Is the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich three times better than a McChicken as the price would indicate? I’m not sure. While it has all the trappings of a higher quality sandwich, if I were scratching that chicken itch, I don’t know if I would regularly splurge. Now, if McDonald’s made a sandwich out of that half-fish, half-monkey thing, I would be all over it. But they’d probably only offer it in Norway or something.
(Nutrition Facts – 580 calories, 220 calories from fat, 24 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 grams of cholesterol, 900 milligrams of sodium, 62 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, 29 grams of protein.)
Item: McDonald’s Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Purchased Price: $4.79
Size: N/A
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Great texture. Chicken is quality compared with previous chicken offerings. Artisan bun is soft.
Cons: Could be too salty for some. Globs of mayonnaise. Pricey.
Nice review, Kevin! So where do you place the Artisan Grilled Chicken sandwich on your McDarwin scale? I quite liked that one.
McDonald’s sucks in general and this is no exception. Had one of these chicken sandwiches yesterday because they gave me a coupon for free fries and drink with it. My sandwich had a heel end tomato and nasty wilted hot lettuce. Chicken was overcooked or sat around too long before being served, they put so much mayo on it you could actually feel the weight of all the mayo (no kidding). I got my money back. Went across the street and got a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A and it was good, way better than Mickey D’s.
I agree conroy. The sandwich was so crispy around the edges, it tasted like styrofoam. By the time I got to the middle, it was a little moist, but after 2 bites it back to styrofoam. I only tried because it looked so good on the commercial. I don’t know what they gave Pat Neely, but it wasn’t the same sandwich I had.
I agree my husband and I had one and it’s not what you are saying. It had no flavor dry taste like frozen chicken breast. That you get at the from the market. From 1 to 10 it’s a 4. People know that got paid on that commercial to say that it was the best. Where was the Buttermilk flavor.
Great Meal!. My Children love McDonald Butter Milk Sandwich like what?. No eatery freak if not McDonald’s Buttermilk sandwich. I fall in love with the meal because of my childre.
You are so right. I had high hopes for something I could finely eat at McDonalds with my grandson. No, still no winner. The chicken was bland and overcooked, the lettuce wilted and the mayo way too much and just plain mayo. Why not a nice flavored mayo? Yuck. I got a refund also.
I had the EXACT same experience! I was wondering if they purposely gave me the wilted lettuce and tomato end!
I thought the sandwich was awful !!!
I tried the buttermilk chicken sandwich today. I am extremely disappointed. I bought 2, one for my granddaughter. She thought it was so bad she would have rather had the mc chicken. The come trials are good. It costs to much to taste so bland. The tomatoe was hard and an end cut which kept sliding out of the sandwich.
The new buttermilk chicken sandwich i got was trouble .
it was mostly breading and the little piece of chicken trouble it was very hard could not eat it.
worst fast food sandwich i ever had in my life.
You are exactly describing the two buttermilk chicken sandwiches I purchased and could not eat either /chicken was hard like biting into a piece of plastic !! Awful!!
I agree. Rubbery texture & bland taste covered by pepper. Back to Wendy’s for me!
wendys crowns this.. why r plp not accepting the fact that mcs sucks.. clear and simple… get the premium chikcen sandwich instead.. mcds should be banned.
I tried the Asiago Chicken Sandwich at Wendy’s in Paradise, Nevada last week. Delicious! I’m sticking with them.
Awful. Awful. Awful. Don’t waste your money.
Really McDonald’s? Are you kidding me? After seeing umpteen commercials, I caved and bought two, with fries for my husband and myself. Worst thing I have eaten in years. Big clunky chicken thing with a weird bun, some wilted lettuce, a dab of mayo and a tomato slice. I about choked it was so dry. Don’t waste your money, people. This is NOT a winner. Give me a McChicken any day. At 1/4 the price. McDonald’s people= Revise this one.
I’m with you!
Positive review, negative comments here (and elsewhere). I’m finding these sandwiches are always priced at least a dollar too high.
“Globs of mayonnaise” Why is this a bad thing? Sauce / mayo is a great thing. Who wants a dry sandwich? If there’s too much, at least you can scrape it off.
We all know that white meat tends to be dry but this sandwich wasn’t that dry. I actually enjoyed it the mayo makes it work for me. I don’t see buying it a lot because of the price but I’ll do it again. Thanks Mickey D
I was after just the chicken because I’m limiting carbs. After I finally got the mayo scraped off ( didn’t think to ask them to hold the mayo) and got to the chicken patty, it was pretty good. I did request a fresh one.
In our area they are promoting this buttermilk sandwich with a free fries and drink. Haven’t tried it yet, but the promotion will probably draw me in.
BTW, the McChicken is now $1.39, which is $1.52 to pay at the window.
Just redeemed that coupon in Silver Spring, Md. Still seems like alot to pay at McDonald’s. Save your cash.
Ahh, gotta love all the Haterade being passed around with all the negative comments here. It’s okay to make a negative review, but it seems like–once again–people love to hate McDonald’s and will make sure they do their best to spread that resentment.
I usually love McD, especially their breakfast and coffee, but the two buttermilk chicken sandwiches I ordered were not edible ! There was something very wrong with the chicken , it was very thin, rubbery and hard to bite into at the same time; both sandwiches were in the same condition ; I threw them away, awful! Disappointed and wondering if their food quality inspectors are aware of this!
I got one of these for free today, and while the texture was quite good, it was sorely lacking in any real flavor other than salt-no hint of pepper or any spices whatsoever. Their mayo is now terrible also, it’s watered down “dressing” and not real mayo the way it used to be. I don’t understand how McD’s can continue to fail this badly, but it will hurt them badly.
I far, far, prefer the old Southern Chicken sandwich over the new Southern buttermilk chicken sandwich. I used to be a regular eater at McDonalds, but now that they’ve cancelled their old chicken and replace with the new, subpar too-dry buttermilk chicken, I’m mostly eating at Chick-Fil-A. I really hope McDonalds will someday bring back their old chicken. (I have no problem with the bread, it’s the actual chicken that is not as juicy or flavorful as before.)
i ate the new crispy chicken sandwich and it was raw. It was like trying to chew a piece of rubber towards the center I told the manager and he totally ignore me I guest maybe he thought I was trying to get something for free. This was at the Dade City MC Ds in Fl. I will never order it again.
I actually liked this sandwich. I tried it while on vacation/road trip last week. To me, it was very good, fresh and well-constructed. Mine didn’t have too much mayo (can’t stand that) and wasn’t salty at all. It reminded me of Wendy’s spicy chicken (my fav.) minus the spice. I’d get it again.
This was at 1090 W. Yellowstone Hwy., Douglas, WY.
I watch a lot of youtube and they have been hammering the ads for this sandwich. so today i decided to give it a try. When i got the sandwich my first thought was who put a mcnugget on my bun?? I have seen the ads a hundred times and the chicken is hanging way over the bun. Mine barely covered half the bun. wtf Anyways i tossed the rotten tomatoe and all in all it was a mediocre dry sandwich. My 1st and last.
drier than a old french ho’s twat…nuff’ said
It was like someone run the chicken over by a truck. It was like thsy pounded the Chicken Breast to make it look bigger. Much better off going to Chick-fil-A where they give you a nice thick Chicken Breast and they have great sauses to put on the sandwich itself. I always am able to find a coupon for the Chick-fil-A sandwhich that all I pay is $4.00 for the large drink and fries and the Chicken sandwhich is free. Much better deal.
I’m not lovin’ it! I wanted to like this new addition to the menu. Problem is after the first bite, there was that odd tasting reminder of the egg mcmuffin. Must be the oleo of whatever they use on the English muffin. On the plus side, the chicken was cooked correctly, and I was definitely hungry and looking forward to trying this sandwich when I arrived. I won’t have to wonder any more what it tastes like. I’ll also be going somewhere else for lunch ($4.89 is too much to spend on a so-so sandwich). I do want to say, my husband had a Big Mac, and it was as tasty as ever. Maybe McDonald’s should just stay with the tried and true favorites!)
I tried the buttermilk crispy chicken sandwich at a McDonalds in the 91722 zip code.
It is easy on the eyes but taste was very bland, akin to cardboard.
Next time I will stick to the burger menu.
It seems a little expensive.
DM
I ended up returning mine and getting my money back. The chicken was simply not edible. They actually tried to give me a hard time about it too, which I was taken aback by. The first bite I took, I knew something with the chicken was funny. Then when I bit it again I realized the chicken breast was too tough and thick to even bite through, and the breading was falling off. Terrible quality.
I’m still very sad over the abolishment of the old Southern chicken sandwich and its replacement with this abomination. I’ve discovered that Jack in the Box (which I hadn’t eaten at in over a decade) has a chicken sandwich that’s far superior to this thing McDonalds calls a sandwich, but sadly, the prices are pretty expensive at Jack in the box. (Plus their fries aren’t as good as McD’s fries.) McDonalds used to sell a reasonable sandwich at a reasonable price.
Please bring this back, McDonalds! I will definitely become the regular customer I used to be, if you do.
Where’s the buttermilk?
BUTTERMILK CRISPY CHICKEN FILET
Ingredients: Chicken Breast Fillets with Rib Meat, Wheat Flour, Water, Buttermilk, Salt, Corn Starch, Rice Flour, Yellow Corn Flour, Pea Starch, Garlic Powder, Spice, Baking Soda, Natural Flavors (Plant and Dairy Sources), Citric Acid, Vinegar, Chicken Broth Powder, Lemon Juice Solids, Onion Powder, Sugar, Cultured Cream, Maltodextrin, Skim Milk Powder, Whey Protein Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Inactive Yeast, Sea Salt, Honey, Milkfat, Whey Powder, Carrot Juice Concentrate. Breading set in Vegetable Oil (Canola, Hydrogenated Soybean, Corn, Soybean).
CONTAINS: WHEAT, MILK
Prepared in Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil) with TBHQ and Citric Acid to preserve freshness of the oil and Dimethylpolysiloxane to reduce oil splatter when cooking.
ARTISAN ROLL
Ingredients: Wheat Flour or Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour or Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Malted Barley Flour, Water, Sugar, Yeast, Palm Oil, Wheat Gluten, Dextrose, Salt, Contains 2% or less: Natural Flavors (Plant Source), Corn Flour, Soybean Oil, Calcium Sulfate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Ascorbic Acid, Enzymes, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Vegetable Proteins (Pea, Potato, Rice), Sunflower Oil, Turmeric, Paprika, Corn Starch, Wheat Starch, Acetic Acid.
CONTAINS: WHEAT
TOMATO SLICE
MAYONNAISE DRESSING
Ingredients: Water, Soybean Oil, Distilled Vinegar, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch, Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk, Salt, Sugar, Xanthan Gum, Mustard Flour, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Polysorbate 80, Natural Flavor (Animal Source), Calcium Disodium EDTA to Protect Flavor, Beta Carotene (Color).
CONTAINS: EGG
LEAF LETTUCE
Rather have 3 mc chickens rather than this tasteless pos.
Extremely disappointed. This sandwich I just purchased looks nothing like the menu board. Come on McDonalds you can do better. Gross
I gave the cashier a coupon for 2 southern chicken Sandwhiches and ended up with 2 buttermilk chicken Sandwhiches for $3.80. These Sandwhiches were the last thing I ate that Sunday night, I woke up Monday morning with my stomach as a “boiling bubbling inferno!” That began the madness. I developed instant diarrhea, vomiting, chills, body aches, nausea, cold sweats, cramping, abdominal pains… True stomach knots. These symtpoms are finally beginning to calm down 4 days later after missing work and then eventually being able to attend work but not be as efficient as I could due to frequent trips to the restroom.
Dry and tasteless. See NO STARS!