We tried the fast food chicken nuggets - here are the best (2023)

You want to think after the blind test62 different saucesOn a $40 order of Chicken McNuggets, I'm tired of fast food. But no, I'm still here! Of course, I don't want to touch another high fructose dip anytime soon, but I'll still give it a shot.run through the food.But around the 37th block of that effort, I started thinking. Is McDonald's the best chicken nugget in the fast food world? After so many nuggets and dips, I'm not sure.

So to investigate, I decided to do a blind taste test comparing the Mighty McNugget to five other fast food classics. Since Chicken McNuggets had worn me out, I wanted to give them a fair shot, so I took a week off from all fast food and fried food. Last week I waseat salt, lots of hummus, kebabs and rice bowls and now after 7 whole days I'm ready to go back to fast food!

So I bought nuggets from some of the biggest fast food chains and putmy trusty eye mask, and start tasting!

Part 1: How to taste chicken nuggets

Chicken nuggets cool faster than cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches. if you followedOur blind taste testThis year, you should know that I have been obsessed with tasting all the food that is as spicy as possible in order to draw the fairest conclusions. So for this blind taste test, I ordered three nearby fast food chains and asked my boyfriend for three more so we could meet at home at roughly the same time without the food going through the dreaded chill time. With six different entrees and seven different chicken nuggets, I think we did a good job and each of the seven nuggets ordered was hot.

Here is our wine tasting:

• Burger King - Chicken Nuggets
• Carl's Jr - Chicken Star
• Chick-fil-a – frango nuggets
• Jack in the Box – Nuggets de Frango
• McDonald's - Chicken McNuggets
• Wendy's - Nuggets de Frango
• Wendy's - Spicy Chicken Nuggets

Since some of the gold nuggets were immediately identifiable, I blindfolded myself and asked my girlfriend to get me a random plate of nuggets (all photos taken by her). Most of the time I didn't know which nuggets I was eating, although Chicken Star and Spicy Nuggets were easy to spot. Here are the results.

Part 2: Chicken nuggets tasting

Try one:

Tasting notes:

Wendy's Spicy Nuggets! I know these are spicy chicken nuggets because they are so spicy. After taking a bite, the strong chili flavor ignited my taste buds. It was a very pleasant experience and for some reason I thought it was more fun blindfolded. After the kickoff, the taste ends with a prominent black pepper note. The chicken pieces were crispy and had a great texture, a real winner.

Flavor 2:

Tasting notes:

This was strangely tasteless. Are the spicy chicken nuggets burning my taste buds? I took a few sips of water and ate another nugget, but still nothing. I absolutely love the texture, the crumb is so light, airy and crispy, as if the chicken was pulled out of cornstarch. Unfortunately, the crispy crust is the only good thing about this nugget. The chicken itself was weird and a bit bland. Although it didn't taste very good, the wet meat really made me nauseous.

Flavor 3:

Tasting notes:

A bit buttery and soft, but the outer coating felt soft to me. It wasn't a matter of time, the chicken nuggets were still hot but not crispy here. It tastes good, but feels a bit like wet Styrofoam in my mouth.

Flavor 4:

Tasting notes:

This one was oddly dusty and felt like little grains of breadcrumbs separated from the nuggets. My hands were covered in crumbs after that and the texture was a little dry, but I loved the taste. The top note is black pepper and the chicken is so tender and chewy that it melts in your mouth.

Flavor 5:

Tasting notes:

Much denser than any nugget I've ever had, but still soft. I had more meat here, and some tendrils of fried bread had a satisfying crunch, but it wasn't a consistent experience. Not sure if that's a bad thing. In terms of crunch, it is average, but in terms of taste, it is in a different category. I taste onion and garlic powder, pepper, earth and a pinch of peanuts. very tasty.

taste: 6

Tasting notes:

Oh, those are chicken stars. I knew it as soon as I picked it up. These are a little strange, they have a light buttery flavor and a heavy crumb that gives them a lot of texture, but it's impossible not to eat them without getting a little gross. I know most chicken nuggets are a chicken mix, but no other nuggets are more obvious than this one. Still, I like them. I have a strange relationship with this person.

Flavor 7:

Tasting notes:

Another starchy, airy, crispy dough. There was a certain flatness to this nugget and it had flavor but was in desperate need of sauce. I can't believe I'm saying this. The main flavors here are salty and cheap chicken with a hint of white pepper. It tasted like you'd expect chicken nuggets to taste, which was good anyway, but it made you wish you could just eat ground chicken.

Part 3: Classification of chicken nuggets

7. Nuggets de Frango Jack in the Box - Sabor 2

Chicken nuggets:

The Jack in the Box chicken problem has been around for a while. The brand keeps confusing things and changing its recipes, and unfortunately not for the better. I'm not sure what's worse about this nugget, it's basically tasteless or the weird soft texture. Whatever it is, it makes this nugget far above the worst.

Shortly said:

If you want a nugget with texture (wet) and no flavor, go to Jack in the Box.

Find the Jack in the Box closest to youher.

6. Wendy's Chicken Nuggets - Smag 3

Chicken nuggets:

It's strange to me that Wendy's offers two very different nugget experiences, the spicy one and the bland one. Why would anyone choose to be bored? I'm not saying that spicy food is always better, but when you're dealing with chicken nuggets, you're dealing with cheap processed meat, and the seasoning makes all the difference! In addition to the bland taste, the nugget also had the feeling of being too soft. Maybe I have a bad batch, but it looks more like Wendy's problem than mine.

Shortly said:

A flavorful but boring lump of chicken with a soft exterior.

find your nearest wendyher.

5. Burger King Chicken Nuggets - Smag 4

Chicken nuggets:

Look at Burger King arriving in the middle of the list! I always dive into this brand, so I'm proud that I didn't come last. They are strange dusty lumps. Besides the strange texture, I really like the taste of black pepper. They are also very soft and almost melt in your mouth. Well, this is the best Burger King I've ever been to, so I'll stop here before I say something so crazy that my editor lets me try the whole menu.

Shortly said:

Burger King's chicken nuggets are dusty but tasty. Well, maybe not tasty, but very good.

Find a Burger King near youher.

4. Carl's Jr Chicken Stars - Sabor 6

Chicken nuggets:

Yes, I know it's weird to give Chicken Stars such a high rating, but what can I say, I love the taste! I can imagine these delicious fried chicken nuggets doused in barbecue sauce, and if a chicken nugget reminds me to use the sauce, I have no complaints. While the star shape is edgy, the crunchy texture makes it all worth it.

Shortly said:

Chicken Star is weird but fun. You can bite off each leg of the star one by one, turning the nuggets into less awkward eating forms. Who doesn't like food you can play with?

Find Carl's Jr. closest to you.her.

3. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets - Sabor 7

Chicken nuggets:

A classic, the McNugget has a very good airy texture and an interesting blend of spices with a taste unlike anything else in the fast food world. Based on crunch alone, this deserves a well-deserved third place, albeit a bit bland. It was bland, like a canvas to dip in. There's a reason I used this chicken nugget in my 62 dip test, it's a natural sauce accompaniment and stays crispy for longer.

Shortly said:

A beautiful chicken nugget with fantastic texture.

Find the nearest McDonald'sher.

2. Wendy's Spicy Nuggets - Sabor 1

Chicken nuggets:

I like this a lot, it's a great way to start the tasting and it's very rich thanks to the combination of cayenne pepper and black pepper. It also has the crunch you want. The crumb is thick but still chewy. Although the meat tasted cheap, it was tender and the spices strong enough to distract from the quality of the meat. If we didn't have our first pick in the lineup, this would easily take the top spot.

The best thing about Wendy's Spicy Nuggets is that they can be heated up. It's not a mild spice, it's quite strong and we love Wendy's subtle.

Shortly said:

If you can't handle the spices, you can't handle the nuggets. Different flavors in a small package, the only nugget that doesn't require any sauce to enhance the experience.

find your nearest wendyher.

1. Chick-fil-A Chicken Nuggets - Smag 5

Chicken nuggets:

I kind of predicted this, and the blinkers confirmed it, and Chick-fil-A's chicken nuggets, made from real whole chicken, were in another category. This is real raw chicken. It's tender, juicy and imperfect, just like real chicken. Granted, you won't get a uniform crunch in this nugget, nor will you get a uniform shape, but you'll get more flavor here than any other nugget.

The chicken is marinated to give this nugget a rich flavor that no other nugget can match. Just talk about the meat and the breadcrumbs have more spice than anything else, with hints of garlic, onion powder and black pepper. If Chick-fil-A made a spicy chicken nugget, it would dominate the menu and beat Wendy's.

I don't like to praise Chick-fil-A. But to its credit, it's a pretty good chicken.

Shortly said:

Easily the best chicken nugget in this taste test.

find your nearestChick-fil-Aher.