'It all depends on how hungry you are' -- the lowdown on chicken nuggets

By Tyler Riggs

November 6, 2006 |

NUGGET RATINGS: 5 Stars possible (based on six reviews)
Generic store-bought brand: 2.2 stars
McDonald's: 3.3 stars
Burger King: 3.8 stars
Wendy's: 4.5 stars

Most people love chicken nuggets. They're easy to eat, they're cute looking, go good with many types of sauces, and they're just plain delicious. But with most fast food restaurants offering their own unique brand of nuggets -- and with grocery stores selling their own brands -- it's important to separate the "nug-gots" from the "nug-nots."

Recognizing that, a panel of six judges recently sampled nuggets from McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's, as well as nuggets from Albertson's frozen food aisle. The judges rated the nuggets on taste, texture, crunch, freshness and appearance. So where can one find the best overall nugget? Read on and find out.

Generic store-bought brand
While the bag of nuggets purchased from Albertson's frozen food aisle offered the most nuggets for the price (24 for $4.99), the brand tested lowest amongst judges. Unlike fast food nuggets, Albertson's brand requires microwaving, a process that produced a less-consistent nugget, as well as a more soggy texture.

One judge said the Albertson's nugget had "the crunch of tofu" while others described the taste as bland and inedible. Perhaps the best description of the Albertson's nugget was a comparison to an elementary school lunch, however. "Am I in third grade again?" a judge asked. "I'm having school lunch flashbacks. It's pretty dry and a little rubbery."

The one area the Albertson's brand scored consistently high in was appearance, as four of the judges thought it looked the tastiest of the nuggets. Our nugget lovers were quick to point out, however, that you can't judge a book by its cover.

McDonald's
The Chicken McNugget was looked at more favorably by our judges than the store-bought brand, but with a harder batter shell than the other offerings, as well as a "wrinkly" appearance, the McNugget received mixed reviews.

Where one described the McNugget as "perfect to beat a late-night craving" and "pure pre-processed perfection" others said the McNugget had a weird aftertaste, was too crunchy and "tastes like it's been in the freezer for two years." Interestingly, the McNugget tested much better with men than with women, receiving high marks in all categories from the boys, but very low amongst the girls.

Burger King
The chicken tenders from Burger King have been anything but consistent over the years. For a while they were a stick-shaped offering, then they were offered in the shapes of different animals, and now the tenders appear to be crown-shaped. The batter used for "The King's" nuggets has remained a pale-colored coating with a touch of peppery spice, however -- a spice that some of our judges liked, and others said was too much.

"They have a zing to them unlike any other," said one judge. "It's a mix of Cajun and Tex/Mex." One judge said the crown shape "kind of creeps me out," and another said they looked like dinosaur feet, but generally, the judges thought the Burger King tenders tasted better than McDonald's and Albertson's offerings -- but just weren't good enough to make you crave them. "I wouldn't leave the house at night for them," one judge said.

Wendy's
The juicy, consistently circular chicken nuggets from Wendy's turned out to be the favorite amongst the judges. Wendy's offering consistently scored fours and fives in the five categories judges were asked to rate. "The quintessential chicken nugget," one judge said, "curves in all the right places. Nothing beats a Wendy's nugget."

Judges liked the flavor and spices included in the batter of the Wendy's nugget, as well as the consistent crusty texture of the morsel. "The chicken tasted kind of fake, but that's not totally a bad thing," a judge said. "But it cost them freshness points."

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After sitting before a table with nearly 100 chicken nuggets on it, our six judges -- independently from each other -- declared the Wendy's chicken nugget as the best of the four. All of the four brands had some highlights amongst the judges, but the truth of chicken nugget quality perhaps was best summed up by a passerby who sampled a few of the nuggets on the table: "It all depends on how hungry you are."

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