Review: KFC bitterballen
In the Netherlands, KFC has launched KFC bitterballen, available in the freezer department of the supermarket. Bitterballen are traditional Dutch, fried beer snacks, typically filled with a thick beef stew. I think it has something to do with the pandemic, as restaurants were forced to close and more people needed to make their own meals at home, have take-out, or get delivery. This way, everybody can still have KFC in the comfort of their own house and any time they want.
There are two flavors: Crunchy Kip (=Crunchy chicken) and Spicy Kip Zinger (=Spicy Zinger Chicken). I bought one of each flavor to try out, when there was a 1+1 deal. The bitterballen are stored in tiny buckets and somehow only the Spicy Zinger Chicken bitterballen have a sticker to seal the lid, whereas the Crunchy chicken bitterballen can fall out, as there is no additional wrapper inside and the lid doesn't close up that well. One bucket with 10 bitterballen (250g) costs €3.79. The price range is similar to Kwekkeboom and Van Dobben (premium fried snack brands in the supermarket).
I took 5 of each flavor and used the airfryer to prepare them. They came out very crunchy and the crust was relatively thick. Out of the two flavors, I like the Crunchy Chicken bitterballen the most. I could taste the peppery herbs of the KFC original fried chicken and the flavor is really close to it, except for the lack of chicken flavor (12% chicken). The Spicy Zinger Chicken bitterballen were a little bit disappointing, as the flour flavor was a bit too strong. The spiciness was really good though. It is not painful, but you feel the heat and it lasts for a while. I also miss some chunky bits of chicken in the bitterballen.
