Popeyes New Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich Is Spookily Spicy
Popeyes is heating up its selection this Halloween season with a new Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich. Released on October 7 and available through the end of the month, this spicy sandwich will haunt your tastebuds. The Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich layers buttermilk-battered chicken — slathered with a brand new ghost pepper sauce — and sliced pickles between brioche buns. The sauce is infused with the pepper to crank up the heat; for eaters who want even more flavor, the chain is also offering a Ghost Pepper Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich, which adds Havarti cheese and bacon slices.
This sandwich is a spicier iteration of Popeyes most popular item, the Classic Chicken Sandwich, which sent shockwaves throughout the fast food industry some years back, toppling, in the minds of many, the existing chix sandies on offer. After its initial launch just over five years ago, it sold out everywhere in only two weeks. Since then, Popeyes has offered several versions of its groundbreaking sandwich, including ones with barbecue and buffalo flavors.
The Ghost Pepper has staying power in the culture, but not on your tongue
Though many customers are bound to hear "Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich" and turn tail and run, Popeyes is trying to reassure customers about its approachability. The fast food chain is marketing its ghost pepper menu item to a broad range of consumers. In an Instagram post, Popeyes claimed that "It's scary good, not scary spicy."
Popeyes' release follows a decade's trend of ghost peppers haunting fast food menus. In 2012, Red Robin first introduced ghost peppers to the American market in its Fiery Ghost burger. Proving that ghost pepper-inspired items could be stomach-able, this release sparked an intrigue in the pepper's capabilities.
In more recent years, the ghost pepper presence has experienced an exponential growth with fast food chains offering entrees, dipping sauces, sides, and desserts flavored with the pepper. Because of the pepper's name and its scary level of spice, restaurants tend to release their ghost pepper options around the Halloween season.