Menu Inspiration

Rule The Roost

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Chicken is hot on today’s menus. From Nashville hot chicken sandwiches to chicken shawarma to chicken katsu, operators are getting creative with this protein. 

For example, use thighs to make fried-chicken sandwiches, cut breast into tenders and replace chicken wings with fenced drums. Apply traditional methods to non-traditional cuts- rotisserie-roasted legs and red-adobo chicken thigh under a brick. These are all great ways to keep your familiar favorites present on the menu.

Dark meat is an abundant option that’s moist, rich, and intensely flavorful with no sacrifice in quality. Chefs are turning to dark meat as a way to keep high-margin - and highly consistent - items on their menu. 

Custom portions of Regal Crest Farms® chicken from Gold Canyon Meat CO® make it easy. Go flavor-forward by pairing chicken with signature condiments and sauces easily prepared using simple combinations infused with spices and seasonings from Katy’s Kitchen®.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Slaw

"Make chicken offerings fun and current. When it comes to chicken, familiarity is best."

Chef Thomas Vigil, Shamrock Foods Branch Chef, Colorado

Grounded in Taste.

Additionally, “Ground chicken is finding homes in items like chicken-mango breakfast sausage, fried chicken patties on biscuits with honey and chicken-enchilada omelets,” notes Chef Tim Maness, Shamrock Foods Business Review Specialist, Colorado. 

The bottom line?

There are many ways to create distinctive and indulgent signature chicken dishes.

“It’s true that the supply chain is pushing popular cuts out of reach,” says Vigil. “Yet chefs are continuing to find new ways to serve America’s favorite protein.”

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Roost Chicken Dishes
SpicySouthern Style Fried Chicken Sandwich With Coleslaw And Pickles

Innovate and differentiate

Global Flavors

Examples: Indian-butter chicken poutine; Korean fried-chicken tacos; Moroccan-spiced skinless chicken thighs served over raisin couscous. 

Sandwiches

Examples: crispy chicken sandwiches with boneless fried or grilled-chicken thighs as the carriers; signature fried or grilled chicken-and-biscuit all-day breakfast sandwiches.

Small Plates

“Use chicken thighs for ‘wing-style’ dishes that satisfy consumers who must have bone-in chicken,” says Maness. Other examples: seven-layer Buffalo chicken dip; chicken Alfredo pizza.

Pulled Chicken

Examples: steamed bar buns with pulled chicken; chicken-enchilada omelets; pulled chicken and grits.

Skin In The Game

“Chicken skin is breaking into the scene in a big way - and it’s cost-effective and abundant,” Vigil says. Examples: pasta toppings; salad ‘croutons’; standalone fried appetizers with dipping sauces.

Center-of-the-plate Entrees

Examples: chicken shawarma and waffles; Sicilian chicken Calabrese with Castelvetrano olives; Mexican tortas.

Pastas

Example: mac and cheese with crispy chunks of Nashville hot chicken.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Slaw

"The chicken sandwich wars are real and likely here to stay for a while."

- Bo Bryant, Shamrock Foods Restaurant Consultant

    Menu-ADoption Cycles: Chicken

    • They’re Everywhere

      Sandwiches, pot pies, tacos, lettuce wraps, burritos, chicken and dumplings, pastas, quesadillas, pizzas, chicken parmigiana.

    • Rapidly growing

      Sliders, chicken and waffles, hand-breaded, battered, char-grilled, pulled/shredded.

    • Emerging

      Butter chicken, katsu, Fillipino-fried.

    • Catching On

      Chicken meatballs, Korean-fried, adoba, tinga, empanadas.

    Learn More

    Keep up with chicken trends. Ask your Shamrock Foods Sales Representative about custom portions of Regal Crest Farms® chicken from Gold Canyon Meat CO.®.

    Source: Datassential 2021

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    Menu Incidence Growth of Chicken Over Four Years

    Fried Chicken Sandwiches
    +56%
    Buttermilk
    +47%
    Popcorn
    +46%
    Nashville Hot
    +45%
    Bowls
    +27%
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