Dickey's Puts New Smoked Meat on the Menu

Courtesy Dickey's

The Dallas-based chain, which now has 134 locations across the country, is testing its spicy cheddar sausage at its newest store in McKinney. The sausage will be released nationwide in February as a limited time offering, although spokesperson Paige Blackorby says the company's "not opposed to extending" the sausage's run based on customer demand.

"We definitely saw our customers kept asking for spicier food," she says.

Blackorby believes corporate chef Tyler Riddle hit the right balance of jalapenos and cheese in developing Dickey's first-ever spicy menu item.

"It has a little kick," she says. "But we don't want to scare anyone off. I'm not a super hot-and-spicy person: I don't want to cry."

Still, Blackorby claims she likes the sausage. And her boss, president Roland Dickey, Jr., evidently loves it: He told QSR Magazine this week that he sees the product as a fast food game changer, akin to Chicken McNuggets or McGriddles.

"There have been a few memorable products over the last few decades and everyone can remember when they were rolled out," the trade publication quotes Dickey as saying.

What sausage samplers might recall is the stains on their shirts: Dickey admits the new item isn't for neatniks.

"When you slice into that thing, cheese is literally gonna squirt in every direction," he told QSR. "Is this health food? No, OK, but it's not about that. This is about having the very best tasting sausage you could possibly get."