Fans of fried chicken and Dr Pepper are in luck, as the two flavors have come together in a few new menu items at a popular fast casual restaurant chain.
Slim Chickens has teamed up with the soft drink brand to launch Dr Pepper Blasted Tenders, Tender Bites and Wings nationwide. The items were made available nationwide Sept. 14 and will be available until Nov. 16 at all Slim Chickens locations in the United States, according to a news release.
"Dr Pepper Blasted is a proprietary dry seasoning blend that is applied by hand after the chicken comes out of the fryer. It is not a sauce, and the chicken is not brined or marinated in Dr Pepper," the restaurant chain said in the Sept. 14 news release. "The seasoning adheres to the hand-breaded coating,
so the Dr Pepper flavor comes through in every bite."
The dry rub is available on all tenders, tender bites and wings at no additional charge, according to the company.
"We don't add flavors to our tenders lightly – tenders and sauce are the whole reason people know us," said Patrick Noone, chief marketing officer at Slim Chickens, in the news release. "Dr Pepper Blasted cleared that bar. It is bold, it is unmistakable, and the only place in the country you can get it is at Slim Chickens."
Slim Chickens first opened in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2003 and currently has more than 300 locations across 34 states, in addition to international locations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey and Malaysia.
World's largest Dr Pepper bottle unveiled earlier this year
The official Dr Pepper Museum, located in Waco, Texas – roughly 100 miles south of Dallas – unveiled the world’s largest Dr Pepper bottle on May 9, in celebration of the museum’s 35th anniversary.
"As the Original Home of Dr Pepper, we’re excited to add a new icon to the Waco skyline," Chris Dyer, CEO and president of the Dr Pepper Museum, said in a statement. "This bottle isn’t just big, it’s a bold tribute to the spirit of invention that began right here and continues to inspire visitors from around the world."
The installation, which doesn’t actually contain the fizzy beverage, is constructed from fiberglass and stands at 23 feet tall.
Each side captures two distinct eras in Dr Pepper’s 140-year history, including the branding’s "modern style" popularized in the 1960s, and the "Vim, Vigor, Vitality" logo that adorned bottles from the mid-1800s through the turn of the century.
Contributing: Drew Pittock, USA TODAY
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dr Pepper-flavored chicken? It's a thing at this fast casual chain
