Taste-Test: KFC Zinger Pie

We taste-test KFC’s latest fast food creation: the self-explanatory (and surprisingly delicious) Zinger Pie.

The idea of cramming fast food chicken into a pastry container is so ingeniously simple we’re surprised nobody thought of it sooner. After all, chicken is probably the second most popular pie ingredient in Australia, second only to beef/steak. Doubtlessly Red Rooster, Oporto and the rest of Australia’s takeaway chicken chains are all kicking themselves for failing to stumble onto this obvious concept first.

The KFC Zinger Pie does exactly what it says on the (pie) tin: it’s a chicken pie marinated in KFC’s signature Zinger spices and filled with gravy. The pie costs $3.95 which is actually a bit cheaper than most of KFC’s Zinger burger range. It has a kilojoule count of 2068kj; roughly the same amount of energy as a Zinger Bacon & Cheese Burger.

KFC quietly introduced the Zinger Pie concept during a soft launch a few months ago. In fact, the launch was so soft that hardly anyone was aware it existed. Since then, the company has unleashed a maketing blitz including everything from a teaser Facebook campaign to a segment on the reality TV show Big Brother. But how does it actually taste?

The first thing we noticed when biting into the KFC Zinger Pie was how crisp and flaky the pastry was — for a relatively cheap fast food pie, it has been crafted with a surprising amount of finesse. It doesn’t have that unpleasantly moist underside that dodgy pies are known for either, which is always a bonus.

The next thing we noticed was how spicy the pie was. As regular readers will have gleaned from previous taste-tests, we’re big fans of heat here at Lifehacker and the Zinger Pie certainly delivered. In fact, it might be a teensy bit too hot for some tastes but anyone who enjoys spicy food is sure to love it. In any event, you’ll probably want to add a water or soft drink to your order.

On the downside, the actual chicken is diced into tiny pieces which robs the pie of texture — it almost feels like you’re eating minced chicken. That said, huge chunky pieces of meat would increase the risk of burning your lip or staining your shirt so we suppose we can live with the omission.

As we mentioned in our Takeaway Truth article back in May, the pie begins to a lot look less appetising once you take a bite and peer inside. (In the words of Gizmodo editor Luke Hopewell: “It looks like someone hollowed out the pie and sicked up in it.”)

But these are relatively small quibbles. All in all, the KFC Zinger Pie tastes better than it has any right to. If you’re on the lookout for an efficient and filling lunch this week, you could do a lot worse than the KFC Zinger Pie.

Score: 9/10

The KFC Zinger Pie will be launching nationally tomorrow.

See also: Takeaway Truth: KFC Zinger Pie | Chook Face-Off: Which Takeaway Chicken Chain Is Australia’s Head Cock? | Lunch Deal: Get Nine Pieces Of KFC For $9.95