Banquet Select Recipes “Classic Fried Chicken”

What could be more classic than fried chicken? Nothing. Thats why this is the only banquet meal to my knowledge that uses “classic” as a descriptor. This meal is meant to remind you of all the times your mother would make you a delicious, crispy, batter-dipped chicken.

The meat in this dish is the chicken thigh, which, coincidentally is probably my favorite part of the chicken because it has good flavor and a lot of succulent fat and rarely gets dry and tough during cooking. Its also the cheapest part of a chicken as breasts, and wings command a premium. The price, and not the flavor is probably why the thigh appears in this meal, and really, the meat is quite good. the breading on the chicken leaves something to be desired, however. The breading is chewy, overly salty, and greasier than than the hair of a used car-salesman. Despite this, there was considerably less self-loathing that occurred after eating this meal when compared to that which I regularly experience with fried chicken from Church’s, Popeyes or KFC. I can only to go KFC once or twice a year, because after I eat it I always feel so dirty I have to take a shower. After eating KFC I feel like the only reason I did it was because I hate myself and wanted to be punished. All it takes is sharing a family-sized bucket meal with a few friends and you will know what I mean. However, I’m sure that if you ate three classic fried chicken meals, you would feel this same sense of loathing.

Despite the meal being premium, there is no added quality in the potatoes or corn compared to a standard banquet meal which have been reviewed before. Apparently, premium in this case means that the meat is from a recognizable part of an animal. The bottom-line is that this extra money for a premium entree is probably worth it in the banquet line. The extra $0.69 is well worth the peace of mind that comes from eating a animal part that is identifiable. This is a pretty standard TV-Dinner and one you shouldn't feel ashamed about opening when you have a night all to yourself. It not that good, but not that bad which is why I give it a 81%.

Vital Statistics

Calories: 440

Total Fat: 26g

Cholesterol: 80mg

Sodium: 1140mg

Total Carbohydrates: 30g

Protein: 22g

Kosher: yes

Time to Cook: 5 minutes for 1.1KW microwave

Suggested beverage pairings: Milk, Chocolate Milk, Pepsi products, OE 400/Colt 45

Price as tested: $1.69

Overall Rating: 81%