Bojangle's

Just for clarification: I spent 8 years as a D/O for Popeyes back in the 80's and opened up units for them across the country.

The flavor profiles for the chicken change by the region. When we first opened units in NY and south to GA, we had people throwing the chicken back at us because it was too spicy. :no: Initially, each 'batch' of chicken got 2 bags of seasoning. Outside of La, it was changed to one. Eventually, the flavor packets for demographics were changed and no matter where you were, you used 1 bag per 'batch' or 120 pieces. La units got (still get?) 2x the amount of cayenne in the flavor packets; the mild in La has white pepper in it (rest of the country gets just kosher salt!). This change occured back in 81 or 82.

A friend/past business partner is a Bojangle's franchisee in SC and north Georgia. He has shared some of the procedures and claims that Bojangles is nothing more than a 'watered-down' version of Popeyes, product wise. Their seasonings are similar in ingredients, just variations of amounts (I hear that garlic and onion salt dominate the spicy seasoning pack.:angryrazz: And chili and cayenne are used to create heat.:no: Popeyes uses cayenne, white, and Malabar/Telicherry :9: to create burn and heat while still employing onion, garlic, paprika, etc. - I assume {since all of these spices are secret...})

FWIW, in my travels into the Carolinas, I have found both types of BBQ as described above by MamaSaint. But in honesty, when I think of Carolina pulled pork sandwiches, I think of the vinegary type of sauce with the sauerkraut tasting slaw.