McDonald’s Biscuits Beat Out Popeyes’ in Blind Taste Test

In a stunning blind taste test of biscuits from six fast food restaurants, Washington Post tasters ranked hometown favorite Popeyes biscuits just third. McDonald’s, in a move that even surprised the judges, came in first. Oddly, one tester ranked McDonald’s so high because it was reminiscent Popeyes, “which is the gold standard.”

James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef and co-founder of Willa Jean, Chef Kelly Fields, who once professed that Popeyes biscuits are a religion of their own, reacted to the news, telling Eater New Orleans, “FAKE NEWS! SAD! I'll be honest, I've only had a McDonald's biscuit twice in my life. That's all I'll ever need.”

The biscuits rated, in order from worst to best, came from Burger King, Bojangles, KFC, Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, and McDonald’s. The Popeyes biscuit was the “most traditional biscuit.” It was described as salty, buttery, and possessing a raw taste.

On the other hand, McDonald’s was “soft, flaky, buttery.” But it was also “like swallowing a huge lump of dense bread. I want a bunch of water after eating this,” said one dissenter.

“If we’re talking fast food biscuits then Popeyes’ are the best! Here’s the deal with any chain biscuit — they have to be eaten immediately. No reheating, no waiting. Eat them in the car if you have to. Dip them in your mashed potatoes,” Chef Isaac Toups, of Toups Meatery and Toups South, told Eater New Orleans.

Last place went to the biscuit from Burger King, which tasted “like lies.”

MORE READING

We Taste Tested Six Fast-Food Biscuits and Were Genuinely Surprised By Our Favorite [WASHINGTON POST]

'Popeyes Doesn't Even Qualify as Fast Food' in New Orleans, Says Chef Kelly Fields [ENOLA]

Chef Isaac Toups Is Scared About the Popeyes Sale, Too [ENOLA]

The Washington Post Panned Bojangles’ Biscuits and a North Carolina Senator Is Outraged [E]

All Popeyes Coverage [ENOLA]

The Washington Post Panned Bojangles’ Biscuits and a North Carolina Senator Is Outraged [E]