The Gas Station Chain That's Been Criticized For Allegedly Microwaving 'Grilled' Chicken

There's a reason Sheetz ranks on our list of the best gas station food: its expansive menu offers a dizzying variety of made-to-order and grab-and-go fare, ranging from appetizers like mozzarella sticks and poppers, all the way through subs to desserts. We hear its breakfast is pretty fire, too. Whether you're stopping in before a long shift at work or you prioritize Sheetz for rest stops on your next road trip through the East Coast of the U.S., it's a safe bet that Sheetz has you covered for plentiful options on tasty food. This has earned the chain something of a cult following that has devotees ranking it higher than similar comers like WaWa or Buc-ee's (home of the beloved, but expensive XXL brisket sandwich).

Social media denizens love Sheetz, but a certain corner of Reddit has made an explosive accusation: that Sheetz doesn't, in fact, grill its "grilled" chicken but actually nukes it. "[H]e said grill I'm dead," snarked one poster. On that thread, even more alleged Sheetz employees popped out of the woodwork to echo the claim that all the meat at the gas station was microwaved, including the burgers. 

The reality isn't quite so clear, however. In the same thread, others claimed that a few stores had actual grills and that more would be installed across the chain in the future. This idea was picked up in another Reddit thread, where one claimed employee — who stated they had a real grill in their store — said that actual grilling made Sheetz food even tastier.

As per the claims of alleged Sheetz employees on Reddit, the grilled chicken used in Sheetz meals is actually prepared off-site, frozen, and then shipped into stores to be defrosted as needed. In locations without grills, that's allegedly done in the microwave. Honestly, what's so bad about Chef Mike? The microwave, after all, is a contender for the best way to melt marshmallows ... why can't it competently heat poultry? Are there valid reasons to avoid microwaving chicken other than culinary snobbery? Actually, there are! In every metric that counts, microwaved chicken is worse than chicken cooked in an oven, on a stovetop, or on a grill.

The very thing you love about grilled chicken – its high protein content – is exactly why it's such a bad candidate for the microwave. The process of microwaving changes the protein fibers in the chicken, which permanently alters its texture and taste. No, you aren't imagining that microwaved chicken is rubbery and has an "off" flavor ... there's science behind it. 

In fact, nuking chicken at home could even make you sick, since microwaving heats food unevenly and chicken is quite dense, meaning there's a higher chance of cold spots harboring bacteria. There's absolutely zero evidence that Sheetz is using anything but high standards for food safety, but that doesn't change the fact that microwaved chicken is a substandard substitute for chicken that you were maybe led to believe was grilled. When in doubt, you can (politely) ask an employee how the chicken was cooked.