BATON ROUGE, La. – Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is honoring its signature menu item by celebrating National Chicken Finger Day on Tuesday, July 27.

     “The success of Raising Cane’s indicates the popularity of the chicken finger,” said Todd Graves, founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers. “Since 1996, we have opened almost 100 restaurants in 14 states serving only high-quality chicken finger meals.  So we are giving away a free chicken finger to 100,000 loyal chicken finger enthusiasts – Caniac Club members.”

     According to a recent National Chicken Council Survey, consumers say they eat chicken five times in a two-week period. Additionally, 65 percent of the people surveyed said that they had purchased chicken from a restaurant in a two-week period. Chicken fingers have been the fastest growing fast-food menu item over the past decade.

     In celebration of National Chicken Finger Day, Raising Cane’s will give a free chicken finger to each customer who comes into their restaurant with a Caniac Club card. Launched in January, The Caniac Club is Raising Cane’s customer appreciation program. Customers can register for the Caniac Club by visiting their favorite Cane’s restaurant prior to July 26. Raising Cane’s expects to give away more than 100,000 chicken fingers during National Chicken Finger Day.

     “National Chicken Finger Day is another way we can thank our loyal Caniacs for their incredible support and passion,” said Graves. “One finger. One Love.”

THE FACTS ON FINGERS:

    Chicken fingers have been a hot menu item for decades. Their growing popularity can be attributed to their great taste, quick preparation and appeal to children and adults.

    What is the difference between chicken strips, tenders and fingers?

When ordering from a restaurant, strips, tenders and fingers are all essentially a narrow piece of chicken battered and fried. However, each name describes a different cut of meat.

    Tenderloins, more commonly referred to as tenders, are a special piece of muscle that runs along the inside of a chicken breast. This premium cut is considered the tenderest meat of the chicken. Analogous to the beef tenderloin, tenderloin is the most select piece of chicken – with only two tenderloins per chicken.

    On the other hand, strips are pieces of breast meat cut to resemble a tender. They are cut from the larger, tougher breast muscle of the chicken and tend to be drier than the tenderloin.

    While chicken “fingers” can refer to strips or tenders, Raising Cane’s only uses fresh, never frozen premium chicken tenderloins.

    How many chicken fingers does Raising Cane’s sell?

With nearly 100 restaurants in 14 states, Raising Cane’s sells more than 288,000 chicken fingers each day, and over 100 million each year.

    How often do people order chicken fingers?

    According to a survey conducted by the National Chicken Council, consumers say they eat chicken five times in a two-week period. Furthermore, 65 percent of the people surveyed said that they had purchased chicken from a restaurant in a two-week period. Chicken fingers account for approximately 25% of all chicken served.

    How are chicken fingers prepared?

Often chicken fingers are pre-battered and frozen. Raising Cane’s marinates their chicken for 24 hours, hand batters them using real milk and eggs, premium flour and seasoning.

    When it comes to cooking chicken fingers, four standard options exist: pan frying, deep frying, pressure frying or baking. Each process has its advantages, but Raising Cane’s deep fries its fingers in trans-fat free oil to yield a crispy, golden outside and tender, juicy inside. Raising Cane’s uses a cooked-to-order system ensuring that their chicken fingers are served hot and fresh.

    What are chicken fingers served with?

    Chicken fingers are typically served with a sauce. Ranging from barbecue sauce to white gravy, sauces tend to vary by regions of the country.

    Made fresh daily by a manager to ensure the secret recipe, Cane’s sauce is tangy with a little spice and full of flavor. Despite regional tastes, Cane’s sauce is wildly popular in every market Raising Cane’s serves. Raising Cane’s also offers a homemade honey mustard that is available on request.

    Raising Cane’s serves its fingers with premium, Grade-A, crinkly cut fires, creamy cole slaw made fresh daily and Texas toast grilled with real butter and seasonings.