Jack in the Box's Blazin' Chicken Sandwich features a spicy breaded chicken filet with ghost pepper ranch sauce, grilled onions, jalapenos, Swiss-style cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes, on a sesame seed bun. It's billed as the chain's "hottest sandwich yet."
I bought one for
$3.69 (after using the
"$1 off" coupon they have on their site)
For something with the words "ghost pepper" in it, you'd think the sauce would bring some serious heat. Unfortunately, it did not rise to the occasion. It took a pause for the heat to develop and, when it did, it was in the low-medium range for me (definite but short-lasting burn; no need for milk and not even a bit of sniffling; fine to drink water or soda). Beyond the heat, it's a fairly basic ranch sauce with creamy, slightly tangy, slightly herb-y notes. Recent sauces that packed more heat include
McDonald's Habanero Ranch and
Carl's Jr. Buffalo sauce.
The jalapenos offered a tangy pickled flavor and just a bit of heat. They were placed right on the copious sheets of lettuce, which meant they tended to slide right out of the burger (they actually all slid off when I removed the top bun for the photo and I had to neatly arrange them back in place). It would have been better to put them between the spicy chicken filet and the bottom bun.
The chicken filet was soggy from the cheese and onions that happened to be placed right on top of it, and pretty dry and overcooked. It was also rather bland and could do with a lot more seasoning (just simple salt and black pepper would be fine).
The cheese provided the general creamy goo of fast food cheese without much in the way of flavor (also a fast food standard). Sadly, the onions didn't provide much of anything and were seen but not heard. There was neither the slight crunch nor sweetness I was expecting.
The lettuce and tomatoes were pretty fresh and of good quality. As I mentioned, there was a lot of lettuce so at least you get that crispy texture. That being said, they didn't seem to add much to the sandwich.
Overall, Jack in the Box's Blazin' Chicken Sandwich was a bit of a disappointment for me. While there was a lot of ingredients between the bun, the general effect was a generally plain sandwich with some heat added. I wouldn't call it "Blazin;'" maybe "Spicy" or "Hot," but definitely not "Blazin'" (of course, Jack in the Box has already done both
"Spicy" and
"Hot," and they were both better).
Perhaps it would have been better to pare the sandwich down rather than attempt to do too much. Maybe just a tangy hot sauce with cheese, jalapenos and onions?
