Less than two weeks into the new year and fast food restaurants are already preparing to top all of the stunt food that debuted in 2016. First up: Taco Bell’s national release of a fried chicken shell chalupa.
Taco Bell announced Wednesday that after two years of tests the Naked Chicken Chalupa it will be unleashed at locations across the country starting Jan. 26.
The Naked Chicken Chalupa, which will sell for $2.99, is created by frying a piece of four-ounce breaded and seasoned white meat chicken into a shell that is then filled with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and avocado ranch sauce.
There’s no other meat, because, obviously, a shell of meat should be enough, right?
@mattmoneysmith naked chalupa?!? That's a fried chicken shell. (In KC) pic.twitter.com/Ve7tLRpITS
— Will (@Will_in_Irvine) May 18, 2016
The Naked Chicken Chalupa was first spotted in the wild during tests in Bakersfield, CA, in 2015 and in Kansas City, Mo, in 2016.
One redditor who spied the item in Bakersfield, said it was “pretty good and a little spicy.”
The naked chicken chalupa from @tacobell is the best thing I've ever tasted! #nakedchicken #tacobell pic.twitter.com/leXezxZIQu
— puppa30 (@puppa30) April 29, 2016
The new menu item brings back memories of fellow YUM Brand’s KFC’s Double Down, a bacon and cheese sandwich with two pieces of fried chicken for the bun, and the company’s later creation, the Double Down Dog, which was essentially a fried chicken shell with a hot dog in the middle.