LOADED FRIES, CHICK-FIL-A STYLE

It all started with a conversation at work about how the local supermarket chain down here in Florida, Publix, sells condiment bottles of Chick-Fil-A sauce. One train of thought led to another, and the idea for what I like to call “loaded fries, Chick-Fil-A style” was born.

I drew my inspiration for this dish from the various forms of poutine served out of one of the booths at Epcot in Walt Disney World. The different ingredients going on top would need to blend together well, from both a flavor and a texture standpoint. I didn’t want any one particular ingredient overpowering everything else, and for the most part, I think the dish pulls it off.

With nine different ingredients going on top of the fries, this dish really packs in a variety of different flavors. Sweet, savory, spicy, and tangy are all possibilities with each bite you take.

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Loaded Fries, Chick-Fil-A Style
Makes ~4 servings

30-piece Chick-Fil-A nuggets
1 lb. bag regular French fries
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped scallions
16 slices pickles
1/4 cup crispy onions
2 tbsp Pecorino cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Chick-Fil-A sauce
Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo sauce

Prep Work:

• There will be three different items you’ll need to cut up: the tomatoes, scallions, and Chick-Fil-A nuggets. (Full disclosure: I probably ate at least five nuggets during the course of cutting them up.)
• Since each portion would be constructed individually, I found it pretty helpful to get everything set up in a bit of an assembly line sequence. Items like the pickles, crispy onions, Pecorino cheese, and garlic powder I got measured out, but the sauces I pretty much free-handed.

Assembly:

• For all the quantities indicated above, please keep in mind that’s the total for the four portions. You could construct one large dish and then serve it that way, but I think there is more consistency in quantity of ingredients per plate if you make them separately.
• Here is the layering order that I used for each plate (top to bottom):
  • Crispy onions
  • Chopped scallions
  • Pickle slices (4 per dish)
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Chick-Fil-A sauce
  • Frank’s Red Hot buffalo sauce
  • Chick-Fil-A nuggets
  • Pecorino cheese
  • Garlic powder
  • French fries
• Be mindful of how much Chick-Fil-A sauce you use on the dish. I found that the sweet flavor can be too overpowering if you use too much and it can drown out some of the other ingredients and their respective flavors.

It took me two iterations to get this recipe where I wanted it to be. I only added in the Frank’s Red Hot buffalo sauce the second time, but it was exactly what the dish needed. The spicy element and vinegar from the sauce helped to counter the strong sweetness that came from the Chick-Fil-A sauce. The flavor distribution I think is pretty good, and I like how each bite you can get a different combination depending on which ingredients you were able to pick up.

Categories: Recipes

Tagged as: chick-fil-a, chick-fil-a nuggets, chick-fil-a sauce, French fries, loaded fries