KFC’s new ‘Double Down’ sandwich

August 26th, 2009 Tyson

This is exactly what is wrong with today’s fast food corporations! Do we really need a 1200 calorie chicken sandwich? Why not make a chicken sandwich that has 2 100% whole wheat buns, grilled chicken breast, fresh organic vegetables, and no sauce? Now that is the kind of sandwich I would want to eat.

KFC’s newest “sandwich” is a heart-stopping creation that seems literally to die for: it layers two kinds of cheese with bacon and oozes “Colonel’s sauce.” The twist? Instead of bread, two deep-fried chicken breasts round out the calorific concoction.

**Updated 10-16-09**

KFC contacted me regarding my post. They are claiming that the information potrayed on the web is inaccurate and they want to set the record straight.  Although I still disagree with this sandwich in general and hope that it never makes it to the mass market, Iwill post their updated calorie information in hopes that is helps to educate the public better.

The Double Down is not an item available for sale at KFC restaurants across the country. The Double Down is a test market item that is available for only a brief time and in only two markets: Providence, R.I., and Omaha, Neb. It includes two Original Recipe filets, bacon, Swiss and Pepper Jack cheeses and Colonel’s sauce.

There have been numerous incorrect reports in the media regarding the calories in a Double Down. While we wouldn’t run final numbers on a product unless it is rolled out nationally, we estimate the Double Down at about 590 calories. (FYI, one of the stories that had incorrect nutritional information was the Huffington Post. They cited an erroneous report from the Vancouver Sun, which estimated the sandwich at more than 1,200 calories. We contacted Huffington Post, and they corrected their story, as did the Sun.) If the decision is made to roll the product nationally and that final number ends up varying from our estimate of 590, it won’t be by much.

It is likely you are using the 1200 number from one of the many media sources that published incorrect information. (For instance, when the Vancouver Sun estimated their nutritionals for the sandwich, they added together the total calories for two full-size, bone-in Original Recipe breasts. The actual breast filet used for the Double Down is much smaller — and the nutritionals are much different — than a full-size Original Recipe chicken breast.)

If you have done your own nutritional analysis of the sandwich and come up with an incorrect number, please share the details with us so we can contact the lab you worked with.

Here are our estimated nutritionals for the Double Down:

Calories: 590
Calories from fat: 280
Total fat: 31g
Saturated fat: 10g
Trans fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 190mg

While the Double Down was a test market-only item, the bigger (and national) product news on the KFC front is our introduction of Kentucky Grilled Chicken, which has been the biggest product launch in our history and offers a great alternative for those who are watching calories without sacrificing taste. You can enjoy a two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal with corn and green beans for around 400 calories.

http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/grilled.asp

If you have any questions, please let us know. If your decision is to leave the inaccurate information on your web site, please confirm that via e-mail, as we’ll need to share that information with our Legal team.

Thanks for your time.

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  • http://www.bjbrewing.com Jordan Harker

    I was talking to dad awhile back about food like that; my example being not the triple, but the QUADRUPLE bacon cheeseburger served at Burger King.

    Now, I’m a big guy and while, granted, somewhere underneath my stomach fat there rages six pack abs, I don’t eat the healthiest and I have HAD one of said such quadruple stacker burgers, and I would compare eating one to shoving your fist in your mouth, but much more greasy (and tasting of bacon.) Where is the Quadruple-stacker Veggie Burger?

    I have purposely started ordering single patty burgers or the “smallest” portion of whatever fast food place I go to, and the surprising thing is that I’m usually full by the end of that meal, but I always feel that “grease” effect of fried foods.

    I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie Super Size Me (which in my opinion doesn’t point out how much fast food we eat or the size/quantity, but how UNEDUCATED almost every single person in America is about the true dangers and risks of all of these types of foods, processed or not. You can pose health risks to yourself by overeating ANYTHING, but that’s another value few people consider anymore, “moderation.” You could even occasionally eat that 1,200 double down, just not every single day of the week, or even more than once every two weeks. I mean I think it’s disgusting that the major fast food chains keep topping their last big seller by adding more and more calories, but why does Joe Schmo consumer keep GOING there?

    People rant about smokers spending their money on cigarettes, but what about someone ordering a $5-7 value meal at McDonalds every single day of the work week? An extra $25-35 a week or $125-175 a month anyone? I know I sure could think of some bills I could pay with that amount of scratch (gee, like maybe some “healthy-for-you groceries?”)

    But hey. It’s hard to know what TASTES good that’s healthy for you, and even more so, how to prepare it in a cost effective and simple enough manner to make it feasible for someone to say “okay, I want to make this transition in my eating habits.”

    Just my two cents.

    • http://www.startbeingfit.com Tyson

      I think these fast food companies have a responsibilty to product healthier meals. You are right when you ask why people continue to eat this stuff. If they make it, people will eat it. These companies need to take some responsiblity and product healthy foods. Their profit may not be as high but at least they can go to bed at night knowing they didn’t help to contribute to someone’s heart disease.

  • http://shanelife.com Shane

    Ick. Even I think that is excessive.

    • http://www.startbeingfit.com Tyson

      One of the test cities is Omaha Nebraska if you want to give it a try next weekend.

  • Terry R. Harker

    ok, I know this is a little late for a post but that sandwich looks like something a person might concoct in the privacy of your own kitchen when your on a bender and really have the munchies, not something that a fast food place would come up with and say, try me! you’ll be back again. but hey! you know what america is all about and I’m sure they have marketing guys out there who are saying this what america wants. I may have made a sandwich like that at one time, I’m sure we all have. But after getting sick we probably did not do it again.
    Dad

    • http://www.startbeingfit.com Tyson

      It almost seems like some of the fast food restaurants are having a competition to see who can make the worst sandwich for America. Maybe its a way to get some free advertising. It sure has had a lot of people talking about it.

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