If there's one thing kids and adults alike can't resist, it's a Chicken McNugget. Maybe it's the clever name, the crispy outside or the juicy chicken inside that makes us order McDonald's chicken nuggets. Whatever it is, we can't imagine chicken nuggets not being on the menu, but the truth is, they originally weren't.
History of the McNugget
Original,McDonald'swas a burger and fries. When the fast-food restaurant wars began to rage between McDonald's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc quickly realized that the menu needed to be expanded.
Kroc added items like the Big Mac, the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and the Egg McMuffin to the McDonald's lineup, all of which became menu hits. But in 1977, the Senate issued its first set of dietary guidelines recommending that Americans reduce their consumption of red meat—which was bad news for Mickey D's, whose menu consisted mainly of hamburgers.
McDonald'sHowever, he had a trick up his sleeve: a chef named René Arend.Kroc hired Arend to revamp McDonald's menu. After the new guidelines started hurting McDonald's business, Arend was tasked with creating a new menu item that did not contain red meat.
Arend suggested fried chicken, but KFC already dominated that market. He suggested chicken pot pie, but Kroc wanted something customers could eat on the go. At first chef Arend made something like the onion lump, but it was a miss. Finally,Chicken McNuggets were introduced to the menu in 1983. Arend and a team of culinary specialists came up with a way to create a boneless chicken nugget that became the McNugget we know and love today.
What makes the McNugget so good?
There are four unique things that make Chicken McNugget so delicious: the taste, the texture, the shape and the sauces. But to really understand the difference between a McNugget's chicken nugget and another fast food restaurant's chicken nugget, you need to know how McDonald's nuggets are made.
How are McDonald's Chicken Nuggets made?
There are some common misconceptions when it comes to how McNuggets are made. But luckily for us, McDonald's has released oneHow It's Made Episodeabout his chicken nuggets (just like it's an episode about hisFrench fries). The section offers fvMythBustershost Grant Imahara, who takes viewers through the Tyson facility to debunk the Internet rumors surrounding McNuggets — and spoiler alert: McDonald's chicken nuggets are made with real chicken.
First off, McDonald's McNuggets are only made with white meat - including brisket, rib meat, tenderloin, and just a little bit of chicken skin (for extra flavor). The chicken is ground into a coarsely ground chicken mixture. It's coarser than the ground chicken you find at the grocery store, which gives the McNugget its thick, meaty texture.
Then the ground chicken is mixed with marinade ingredients, that's itpublicly available on the McDonald's site. Ingredients include water, sodium phosphates, modified food starch, salt, natural flavor, wheat starch, dextrose, citric acid, autolyzed yeast extract, rosemary extract and thistle oil. These components work together to add moisture, improve flavor and maintain freshness.
The chicken is then formed into four iconic shapes: a bow, boot, bell and ball. The resulting piece of chicken is breaded three times: first in a light batter, then in a breadcrumb with celery and white pepper, and finally in a thick tempura batter that contains leavening agents to lighten the batter. This gives the McNugget its crispy yet airy texture and slightly spicy taste.
The McNuggets are only partially baked at the factory to allow the batter to set, then flash frozen and shipped to eachMcDonald'srestaurant, where they are prepared to order. An interesting note is that the factories have on-site kitchens where fully cooked nuggets can be tasted every hour to ensure perfect pieces are produced.
While the chicken nugget is delicious on its own thanks to the crispy, fluffy breading and juicy all-white chicken inside, the McNugget is even better with some dipping sauces (and McDonald's knows this).
The secret behind McDonald's sauces
Chef Arend not only created the legendary McNugget, but he also changed the way Americans viewed sauces. He tested hundreds of sauces and narrowed them down to four that were served at the launch of the McNugget: mustard sauce, sweet and sour, honey sauce and barbecue. The sauces all went to the market, served in a dipping cup perfectly sized for a gold nugget.
Today, a variety of these four sauces are still available, plus Buffalo and Ranch.
Whether you dip your McNuggets or not, the idea of serving sauces with the chicken nuggets so that everyone can have a different taste experience is brilliant.
We can't imagine itMickey D'swithout the iconic McNuggets, so the next time you order six, you'll know you have a French chef to thank.
