Tag: Jack in the Box

Which came first, the chicken or the pea protein isolate?

Domesticated chickens date back to 2000 BC, but peas were present a few thousand years before that. When considering whether those peas were dried, milled, wet filtered, and put in a centrifuge to extract the protein… I’m going to just give the chicken a win. And Jack in the Box is giving the chicken a win too, sparing them from its new offering, the Unchicken Sandwich.

Jack in the Box is currently testing the Unchicken Sandwich only in restaurants near Reno, NV and Monterey, CA, making them just the second major fast food chain in the US to test plant-based chicken. This follows KFC’s Beyond Fried Chicken tests in 2019 and earlier this year. Jack in the Box has partnered with Raised & Rooted, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods, to bring its Unchicken Sandwich to the meatless crazed masses.

Raised & Rooted advertises its chicken alternative as a blend of pea protein isolate, bamboo fibers, egg white, and golden flaxseed. The breading is Jack’s recipe, available in original and spicy. I opted for the latter.

Aside from having a plant-based patty, the sandwich offers the standard accompaniments of a toasted split top bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato. My sandwich came with what can only be described as an aggressive amount of lettuce. While Jack in the Box is usually generous with lettuce, it seems it may have gone overboard to compensate for the very thin Unchicken patty.

Upon my first bite, I was immediately hit with an intense amount of spice. As someone who is often disappointed by the lack of spice in fast food offerings, the strong cayenne and paprika flavor from the crisp breading offered a welcomed punch. The plentiful amount of lettuce, along with the tomatoes, worked well to help cool down the heat.

If I was not cued to the fact that it was a plant-based sandwich, I don’t think I would question that it was anything but a thin, processed chicken patty sandwich. The grain-like aftertaste you get when tasting the patty alone is masked quite well by the spices in the breading. On close inspection, the Unchicken is denser than most chicken patties. But when eating the sandwich together, it is remarkably similar to the texture of chicken.

Having tried plant-based burgers and chicken nuggets in the past, Jack in the Box’s Spicy Unchicken Sandwich takes the top spot as the most convincing imitation. Keeping the patty thin and having a crisp, spicy breading really hides any shortcomings that come from utilizing a chicken alternative. If you’re inclined to eat a more plant-based diet, this is definitely one to try.

Purchased Price: $5.49 (sandwich only)
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available.

A few thoughts popped into my head right before I was about to order Jack in the Box’s Chili Cheeseburger.

1. Is the chili just the seasoned meat in Jack’s tacos?
2. Does the chili have beans?
3. Will there be a Twitter war between Jack in the Box and Wendy’s because Wendy’s tweeted Jack’s chili must not be good since it isn’t offered in a bowl, and then Jack retorted by tweeting Wendy’s chili is made from old beef patties?
4. I should start going to sleep earlier.
5. Can I use Apple Pay in the drive-thru?
6. Should I get onion rings?
7. Is the drive-thru cashier upset because I’ve been sitting here in front of the speaker without saying a word for about a minute? What about the four cars behind me?

Jack’s Chili Cheeseburger features a beef patty, two slices of cheese, a layer of beef chili, and onions on a bun. If you want something even beefier, there’s a double version with two patties.

While it’s being advertised as new, the internet tells me this is not the first time Jack has offered a chili-topped cheeseburger. So maybe the recipe was pulled out of the Jack in the Box vault, which I imagine is shaped like Jack’s head and the combination dial is Jack’s hat, while the lever to open it is Jack’s nose.

The chili is bean-free, in case you were wondering, and, even though they look somewhat alike, I’m pretty sure it’s not the seasoned ground beef in Jack’s tacos. What’s on this burger is redder and they don’t taste the same.

While it’s never going to win a chili cook-off, the marquee ingredient in the burger tastes fine on its own and is even meatier thanks to the beef patty. But the elements that make this limited time menu item delectable are the chopped onions and cheese. The American cheese complements the chili’s spices, while the onions not only enhance the chili with their pungent flavor, but also add some crunch to the mush-fest.

Oddly, even though the idea of topping a burger with chili sounds like a mess-fest, all of it stayed between the buns. Also, something to note, I ordered one for my wife and hers had noticeably less of the topping than mine.

While I’m not sure I’d order Jack’s chili a la carte, if it was available that way, it does makes this cheeseburger surprisingly tasty.

Purchased Price: $7.49*
Size: Small combo
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available on the website.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are much pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

What is the Jack in the Box Southwest Cheddar Cheeseburger?

It features a beef patty, smoked cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce, grilled onions, lettuce, and tomatoes on a buttery bakery bun. If you want something with a bit more heft, it’s also available in a double version that has two beef patties and two slices of cheese.

How is it?

I thought it gave me an idea of what a cheeseburger would taste like if Jack in the Box decided to make one using two of its tacos as the burger’s bun. (Please make this happen, Jack in the Box!)

It’s all thanks to the beef patty and chipotle sauce, which I’ve said previously tastes like a combination of Jack’s taco sauce and mayonnaise. It’s not at all spicy, but instead more smoky and peppery. I’ve enjoyed it with other Jack in the Box chicken sandwiches and breakfast burritos, and I like it on this.

The other ingredient that gets product name-billing, the smoked cheddar cheese, doesn’t seem to enhance the burger. I’m not sure it does anything else besides sweat. I mean, look at the photo above. It appears as if it’s guilty of something. What are you hiding, smoked cheddar cheese?

Maybe the cheese helps with the smokiness of the chipotle sauce. Or perhaps it sweats to make you not pay attention to how little flavor the grilled onions have in this cheeseburger.

Also, I feel as if the vegetables in the cheeseburger slightly affect the flavor punch of the chipotle sauce.

Is there anything else you need to know?

You can get it a la carte, but it’s being promoted as the headliner of a $4.99 combo that also comes with a small fries and drink.

Conclusion:

I know it reads as if Jack in the Box’s Southwest Cheddar Cheeseburger isn’t worth the price. But here’s the thing, it’s worth it because of the chipotle sauce, and because the price of the combo is low enough that I can forgive the other ingredients.

Purchased Price: $6.99*
Size: Medium combo
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available at time of publication.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did. The combo has an advertised price of $4.99.

What is Jack in the Box’s Popcorn Chicken?

Well, it’s popcorn chicken from Jack in the Box. They’re bite-sized, breaded pieces of 100% all-white meat chicken that’s available in Classic and Spicy flavors. Every order comes with your choice of dipping sauce, and it comes in a container with a fun design that I’ll be adding to my fast food packaging collection that my son will inherit someday and promptly throw away.

How is it?

My order of Spicy Popcorn Chicken looks either spicy or burnt, but after eating a few, it’s definitely the former.

Its flavor reminds me of Jack’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich, but more intense and, maybe, slightly more heat. It tastes fine sans sauce, but I preferred to dip them into the ranch and honey mustard sauces I asked for.

But if I decided to order Jack’s Popcorn Chicken again, I’d go with the Classic one. Both varieties are good, but my taste buds seem to be drawn more to the golden brown ones.

Its breading is seasoned enough that I ended up mostly eating it without a dipping sauce. The chicken was surprisingly juicy with the meatier pieces, although the ones I ate at the bottom of the container weren’t as much.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Both varieties have a pleasant crunchy exterior that I wish Jack’s Chicken Nuggets had.

The Popcorn Chicken is available a la carte or as part of a combo box with double the chicken, small fries, and a small drink. The box has a suggested price of $4.99, but I bought it a la carte for $5.99 (the combo sells for $7.99 here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean).

Don’t be like me and order it separately. Get the box. It’s worth it since it comes with double the chicken. The container may have a fun design, but it’s on the smallish side.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed Jack in the Box’s Popcorn Chicken more than its nuggets, which I find to be subpar when compared with McDonald’s and Wendy’s offerings. So give it a try, but get the combo box.

Purchased Price: $5.99 each*
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Classic), 7 out of 10 (Spicy)
Nutrition Facts: Classic – 260 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1120 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 17 grams of protein. Spicy – 260 calories, 1 gram of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of trans fat**, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 1290 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 18 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

**I’m pretty sure the fat numbers for the Spicy one, taken from Jack in the Box’s website prior to publication, are incorrect.

When I saw Jack in the Box’s Loaded Breakfast Croissant Stick was from the makers of Hot Pockets, I thought it would be the size of a Hot Pocket. Unfortunately, it’s not, and its name is more substantial than the product itself.

The stick is loaded with eggs, cheese, and bacon. Okay, “loaded” is being super generous. It has egg, cheese, and bacon, and I guess one could consider that a load of ingredients, but as you can see below, they don’t fill the croissant stick. Can air be an ingredient? If so, then I guess it can be thought of as “loaded.”

The croissant crust is flaky and greasy on the outside, and there are a few layers of dough, which give the menu item some crispiness. Underneath that is a thick layer of soft dough to prevent the filling from escaping, which it does an excellent job of, unlike the exterior of regular Hot Pockets.

After passing through the fried crust, there’s the savoriness from the egg, cheese, and bacon, but the ratios are off with every chomp because there’s not a lot of each throughout the stick.

With one bite, it’s more cheese. Another has more bacon. Another has a better balance between the ingredients. And, another…oh, who am I kidding. It takes three bites for me to consume the whole thing. I imagine if this were indeed loaded, then I’d be able to taste everything in every chew. But with the lack of filling, the crust’s flavor is the most prominent.

But let’s now talk about the one ingredient I’m sure you’re all curious about — the air. There’s a lot of it. I assume, when it’s sealed in, it absorbs the flavors of the egg, cheese, and bacon. But once the crust is cracked open, all that probably floats away. Maybe I should’ve stuffed the whole thing in my mouth so that I could taste that delicious, savory air.

Jack in the Box’s Loaded Breakfast Croissant Stick is something I wouldn’t buy again. Even at its ONE DOLLAR promotional price*, I’m not sure it (and all the air it has) is worth a try.

*Unfortunately, I paid two dollars for mine because, you know, living on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is expensive.

Purchased Price: $2.00
Size: N/A
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available on Jack in the Box’s website.