Waffle House is a popular diner-style restaurant chain known for serving breakfast all day. The restaurant’s menu features many classic breakfast items like waffles, pancakes, eggs, and hashbrowns. However, Waffle House also serves lunch and dinner options including sandwiches, salads, and dinner plates with options like chicken, pork chops, and steak. For customers wondering what brand of chicken Waffle House uses in their chicken dishes and sandwiches, this article will provide the details.
Tyson Foods
After reaching out to Waffle House corporate customer service, it was confirmed that Waffle House uses Tyson Foods chicken. Tyson Foods is one of the largest protein processing companies in the world and a major chicken producer in the United States. Many large restaurant chains source their chicken products from Tyson due to their wide distribution network and competitive pricing.
As one of the biggest players in the protein industry, Tyson Foods produces packaged consumer chicken products under brand names like Tyson, Weaver, Wright, Aidells, and State Fair. However, much of their chicken is used as ingredients for restaurants, food service operations, and industrial customers. Tyson has the capability to meet the demand from large restaurant chains like Waffle House by operating massive poultry processing plants across the country.
Why Waffle House Uses Tyson Chicken
There are several key reasons why Waffle House and many other major restaurant chains use Tyson chicken products:
- National distribution capabilities – Tyson Foods has the infrastructure and logistics network to cost-effectively deliver consistent quantities of quality chicken nationwide to support over 1,900 Waffle House locations.
- Vertically integrated process – Tyson produces and processes chicken within their own supply chain, ensuring quality control from farm to table.
- Long-standing reputation – As one of the most established chicken producers, Tyson Foods has built trust and reliability over decades of working with food service companies.
- Breading capabilities – Tyson provides breaded chicken products that align with Waffle House menu items like chicken sandwiches and dinner plates.
- Cost effectiveness – Massive production capabilities allow Tyson Foods to benefit from economies of scale and offer competitive pricing.
By using a reputable supplier like Tyson, Waffle House can provide patrons with delicious chicken dishes made with quality and consistency customers expect. The breadth of Tyson’s operations enables the chicken giant to meet the high demand from a restaurant chain with locations across 25 different states.
Tyson Chicken Products Used by Waffle House
Waffle House uses a number of different Tyson chicken items in their recipes depending on the menu item. Here are some of the main Tyson chicken products found on the Waffle House menu:
- Breaded chicken breast fillets – Used for Waffle House chicken sandwiches.
- Breaded chicken tenderloins – May be used in salads or plates.
- Grilled chicken breast fillets – For grilled chicken sandwiches or salads.
- Diced chicken breast – Added to dishes like the Chicken Florentine Melt or Tavern Ham & Cheese Melt.
- Chicken leg quarters – Used for fried chicken dinner plates.
Waffle House prep cooks and line cooks likely bread, fry, grill, and portion chicken according to product specifications and recipes provided by Waffle House corporate and test kitchens. Tyson offers hundreds of different poultry items for food service, so Waffle House likely fine-tuned their menu offerings over the years using different Tyson products.
Tyson’s Commitment to Quality
As one of the leading protein companies worldwide, Tyson Foods recognizes the importance of quality and food safety throughout poultry processing:
- HACCP principles – Tyson employs Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points best practices for monitoring and ensuring food safety.
- Veterinarians and microbiologists – Experts routinely inspect live chickens and processing facilities to verify health and cleanliness.
- Welfare audits – Third party auditors frequently evaluate operations to uphold ethical animal welfare standards.
- Testing and research – state-of-the-art equipment and testing capabilities allow Tyson to detect and react to any contamination or related issues.
Rigorous standards enforced by Tyson Foods give Waffle House assurance that the Tyson chicken they serve is safe and of consistent quality for their patrons. As a trusted supplier, Tyson helps Waffle House focus on operational excellence in their own restaurants.
How Waffle House Prepares Tyson Chicken
Waffle House likely has proprietary recipes, cooking procedures, and suppliers for the ingredients that make up menu items featuring Tyson chicken. However, here is some insight on how Tyson chicken products may be turned into popular Waffle House menu items:
Breaded Chicken Sandwiches
Using breaded chicken breast fillets from Tyson, prep cooks may:
- Prepare proprietary breading mixture (could contain flour, salt, pepper and various seasonings).
- Coat fillets evenly in breading.
- Deep fry breaded fillets for the allotted time at the correct oil temperature to achieve crispy outside and juicy interior.
- Assemble fried chicken breast on bottom bun with requested toppings/condiments.
Chicken Dinner Plates
Line cooks may use Tyson chicken leg quarters to prepare fried chicken dinner plates:
- Buttermilk soak chicken quarters.
- Dredge leg quarters in flour mixture.
- Fry chicken in oil for 12-15 minutes until 165°F internal temperature.
- Plate fried chicken with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and biscuit.
Chicken Salad
Tyson diced chicken breast could be used by prep cooks to create Waffle House chicken salads:
- Poach or grill diced chicken breast with seasoning.
- Chop cooked chicken and mix with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, celery, onions.
- Portion chicken salad over lettuce blend.
- Top with tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and pecans.
The Waffle House culinary team likely spent years perfecting recipes and techniques to deliver the signature flavor and crunch their fried chicken is known for. Frying breaded chicken requires careful oil temperature control, consistent breading preparation, and cooking to the right internal temperature. Waffle House relies on quality chicken from Tyson Foods to make the magic happen.
Waffle House Chicken Sandwich Options
Waffle House offers customers a variety of chicken sandwiches on their menu. All sandwiches feature a breaded and fried Tyson chicken breast fillet unless otherwise noted. Chicken sandwich choices include:
| Sandwich | Description |
|---|---|
| Chicken Sandwich | Fried chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, mayo on Texas toast |
| Bacon Chicken Cheese Sandwich | Fried chicken with bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo |
| Spicy Chicken Sandwich | Fried chicken coated in spicy seasoning, mayo, lettuce, tomato |
| Chicken Club Sandwich | Fried chicken, ham, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo |
| Grilled Chicken Sandwich | Grilled marinated chicken breast, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo |
Customers can choose to make it a meal by adding on hash browns and a drink for a couple extra dollars. Waffle House chicken sandwiches deliver a crispy fried fillet with fresh veggies and toppings on thick Texas toast.
Tyson vs. Competitors
As one of the largest processors of chicken in America, Tyson competes with a handful of other big chicken producers for business from major restaurant chains:
| Company | Annual Revenue | Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Tyson Foods | $47 billion | 243 facilities |
| Pilgrim’s Pride | $14 billion | 52 facilities |
| Perdue Farms | $7 billion | 33 facilities |
| Koch Foods | $3.2 billion | 8 facilities |
With their scale and chicken product diversity, Tyson maintains key partnerships with big brands like McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell and Waffle House. Smaller competitors focus more on niche products and regional distribution.
Waffle House Chicken Suppliers by Region
As a national chain, Waffle House needs to source from local chicken suppliers with processors near each region for optimal freshness and cost efficiencies. Besides Tyson plants, Waffle House likely uses other chicken suppliers like these providers by geography:
| Region | Potential Suppliers |
|---|---|
| Southeast | Mar-Jac Poultry, Wayne Farms, Columbia Farms |
| Southwest | Sanderson Farms, Mountaire Farms, Peco Foods |
| Midwest | Amick Farms, Case Foods, Draper Valley, Gerber Poultry |
| Mid-Atlantic | Perdue Farms, Allen Harim Foods, Bell & Evans |
Leveraging multiple regional suppliers allows Waffle House to source the right chicken products for local tastes and control distribution costs. Tyson Foods remains the primary national supplier.
Why Waffle House Uses Fresh, Never Frozen Chicken
Waffle House proudly advertises that their chicken is fresh, never frozen. There are a few benefits to using raw fresh chicken vs. frozen:
- Higher quality – Fresh chicken has superior texture and flavor.
- Food safety – Less handling and reduced risk of contamination.
- Happier customers – Consumers perceive fresh as higher quality.
- Higher profits – Fresh chicken enables higher menu prices.
With busy grills and fryers, Waffle House locations go through chicken rapidly enough to justify frequent deliveries of fresh chicken. The never frozen commitment requires coordination with suppliers like Tyson Foods to ensure consistent shipments of raw chicken are trucked out to all restaurants in the network.
How Waffle House Stores Raw Chicken Safely
To keep raw chicken safe and fresh until cooking, Waffle House restaurants likely follow these standard storage guidelines:
- Keep refrigerated below 40°F – Raw chicken is kept chilled in walk-in coolers on low shelves to prevent juices from dripping on other foods.
- Wrap properly – Chicken is kept covered in packaging or plastic wrap to prevent cross-contamination in the cooler.
- Follow FIFO method – Cooks use First In, First Out rotation to ensure older chicken gets prepped/cooked first.
- Sanitize surfaces – Employees clean and sanitize any surfaces or tools that come into contact with raw chicken.
- Watch expiry dates – Chicken is discarded once package use-by dates are reached.
Proper receiving, storage, thawing and cooking procedures ensure food safety is maintained throughout Waffle House kitchen processes.
Why Tyson Chicken Works for Waffle House
It makes strategic sense for Waffle House to partner with Tyson for their signature chicken menu items. The factors that make Tyson Foods the right supplier for Waffle House include:
- National distribution network
- Preferred pricing from high volumes
- High quality standards
- Product development capabilities
- Skilled account management
- Dedicated customer support
- Reliable cold chain logistics
- Established reputation consumers trust
Both companies share a commitment to delivering safe, affordable meals with the All-American flavors diners love. Tyson enables Waffle House to focus on what they do best – serving up hot breakfast staples like waffles, biscuits and gravy all day long.
Conclusion
For delicious fried chicken sandwiches, dinner plates, and salads on their extensive menu, Waffle House proudly partners with Tyson Foods as their major supplier. As an established leader in protein processing, Tyson provides the quality chicken products Waffle House needs to fuel their operations from Georgia to Arizona. With warehousing and distribution infrastructure across the country, Tyson reliably delivers fresh chicken to maintain the signature taste and crunch millions of Waffle House fans crave.