Ditch The Pickles For The Freshest Chick-Fil-A Sandwich

Fast food doesn't traditionally have a reputation for being the freshest of fare. However, that's not to say there aren't places where folks can find freshly-made food. For many people, Chick-fil-A is probably one of the first chains that come to mind. On its website, the brand says it focuses on food that is made fresh with good ingredients and even offers a few examples like its frequent produce deliveries and in-house, hand-breaded chicken as support to its claim.

Needless to say, it would seem that high-quality grub is one thing fans might always expect at Chick-fil-A, but just because the ingredients themselves are fresh, doesn't necessarily guarantee that the food in your takeaway bag will be hot out of the fryer. As with any restaurant, there's always a chance you could be served the tail end of a batch of sandwiches, nuggets, or waffle fries that were prepped for the lunch or dinner rush and have been sitting in a warming drawer for who knows how long.

Regardless of how delicious people think Chick-fil-A's chicken is, we can probably agree that less-than-fresh order can certainly be a bit of a disappointment – especially if you've waited through one of the chain's notoriously long drive-thru lines for your meal. However, if you happen to be a fan of the restaurant's original chicken sammie, there's a helpful trick you can try to ensure you'll be getting the freshest sandwich every time.

Chick-fil-A's pickles may play a supporting role to the poultry on the restaurant's Original Chicken Sandwich, but that doesn't mean the chain takes any less pride in the briny topping. Made from cucumbers grown at Paradise Farms in Almond, WI, CFA's pickle chips may very well be a high-quality ingredient. Though if you want to sink your teeth into a sandwich with meat that's fresh out of the fryer, Spoon University contributor and former Chick-fil-A employee Emma Wagner says your best bet is to kiss those crinkle-cut babies goodbye.

According to Wagner, the restaurant's kitchen staff typically only preps items as they're written on the menu for rushes because they're "guaranteed to sell." Therefore, by making a special order request like no pickles, you'll more than likely be served a hot, fresh sandwich because it'll have to be made on the spot.

The advice certainly seems legit, but is there actually any truth to this CFA hack? In 2021, TikTok user @hellthyjunkfood put it to the test, heading to their local Chick-fil-A to order one sandwich with pickles and one without. "The one with pickles? Soggy, breading peeling off. And then the one without pickles? Hot, crispy, glorious," the TikToker said. And for those wanting all the deliciousness of a freshly-fried chicken patty and the tanginess of CFA's pickles, too, you can always order a side of pickles to put on the sando yourself.