Food & Beverage

Hardee's, Carl's Jr redo 'tenders' as platform for 3 chicken sandwiches launch

A chicken tenders reconstruct is the foundation for three chicken sandwich additions to Carl's Jr. and Hardee's menus today. (Photo provided)

May 17, 2021

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are introducing a chicken platform today that features renditions of the brands' chicken tenders that launched more than a decade ago, with over 118 million sold per year on average, a news release said. The tenders are the platform the brands used to develop three new sandwiches.

Each has a white meat breast filet marinated in 13 seasonings, dipped in buttermilk and put through a six-step hand-breading process and cooked. The filet is then used for the following sandwiches:

• Hand-breaded chicken sandwich served on toasted potato bun with pickles and mayonnaise.
• Hand-breaded chicken and waffle breakfast sandwich, served between Belgian waffle buns and topped with maple butter glaze.
• Hand-breaded chicken biscuit served on a buttermilk biscuit.

"Carl's Jr. and Hardee's new hand-breaded chicken sandwiches have been hard to keep a secret while we have been perfecting the formula over the last couple of years," Owen Klein, CKE vice president of global culinary innovation, said in the release. "We're hand-breading around the clock to deliver the flavor profiles that are truly craveable and will be something people will want — and can get — all day long."

The launch features a marketing campaign with custom content on OnlyFans, as well as the channel, Hot & Hand-Breaded and Vice's Munchies on May 24.

"Most brands would probably blush at the thought of launching an OnlyFans channel, but we see it as a massive opportunity to reach our audience on a new, emerging platform and make our food the star," Patty Trevino, CKE senior vice president of marketing, said in the release. "Our customers have been begging us to bring our delicious Hand-Breaded Chicken into a sandwich, and it thrills me to be able to bring this to life with three mouth-watering options."

Franklin, Tennessee-based CKE Restaurants runs and operates Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, including more than 3,900 stores globally.