The world can’t get enough of chicken. According to World Population Review, Americans alone eat 53.5 kilograms of chicken per capita. That’s just under 118 pounds. Chicken surpassed beef as the most plentiful meat available in America back in 2010 and has remained above everything else ever since, according to the USDA. When you’re looking for a quick fix, nearly every fast food chain offers chicken on the menu, and then there are places like Chick-fil-A and Popeyes that serve it exclusively. So, how does any chicken place set itself apart? How do you stand out in a crowd? If you’re Raising Cane’s, you focus on making sure you have the exact right, high-quality cut from the right kinds of chicken.
Mashed interviewed Raising Cane’s co-founder, Todd Graves, about what makes their chicken so craveable, and his answer was all about quality. “Our chicken fingers are the highest quality. It’s breast tenderloins — it’s not cut strips,” Graves says. It’s a small but important distinction. Tenderloins, which are smaller muscles located beneath the chicken breast right against the ribs, are not as robust as a full chicken breast. They’re used for chicken tenders (hence the name) because they’re the perfect size already, and they cook fast.
“I like to get the right size bird. It’s around a two-ounce tender, and it gets down to a lot of specifics on breeds and all that good stuff, just to have the best, most flavorful chicken,” Graves continues, which speaks to consistency with the product. Chicken breasts can come in a range of sizes that would need to be trimmed down. Choosing consistent tenderloins gives Raising Cane’s a reliable and delicious result every time.
Elevating chicken with Raising Cane’s
There’s more to Raising Cane’s chicken fingers than just a good tenderloin. Once the chicken is selected, it’s held in “a brining solution, for 24 hours, which helps basically to get water retention, to keep it juicy … And then it’s hand-battered and breaded in a cook-to-order fashion,” Graves says. And there’s one final step to make it as craveable as possible. “The chicken by itself is really good, but with the sauce, that’s the craveable part,” Graves added.
People online agree that Raising Cane’s sauce is next level. We ranked it as one of the best fast food sauces available, and that’s thanks to a unique recipe. How the sauce is made is a secret, but the ingredients include anchovy, famously used in Caesar dressing, which helps it pack a salty, umami punch.
While Raising Cane’s menu is focused almost exclusively on chicken fingers, that’s obviously not all they serve. To round out the experience, the chain has curated a list of items that have become just as popular all on their own. Even their Texas Toast is incredibly popular, especially as a way to sop up the last bits of that sauce. The crinkle-cut French fries and even the lemonade get their fair share of praise from diners as well. Put the whole package together, and there are plenty of reasons why Raising Cane’s is so craveable.
Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and Mashed.
