What’s up with Double Down?

"So meaty, there's no room for a bun," the KFC website says of the chain's Double Down sandwich. Hatched in April, the Double Down consists of two slices of bacon, two melted slices of cheese, and mayonnaisey sauce slapped between—no, not bread—two boneless battered or grilled chicken patties. It has been lampooned as a dietitian's nightmare, but KFC claims the Original Recipe (battered) version has 540 calories, fewer than many other fast-food sandwiches. (Hardee's Monster Thickburger, for instance, has a monstrous 1,320 calories.)

We analyzed three Double Down Original Recipe sandwiches from different locations to see whether the claimed calories and fat are accurate and found that they are. Still, the sandwich has about 30 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium. That's roughly half the daily limit for both, so watch how often you down Double Downs. Oh—our trained tasters said that it's good, with crispy, tender, flavorful chicken, peppery cheese, and smoky bacon, but tastes a little too salty.