When I first came across this ‘how McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are really made’ clip from Grant Imahara (formerly of the MythBusters) I expected the worst. I went into this thinking I’d see chickens ripped limb from limb, ground into a gelatinous paste, and served to blissfully unaware customers who prefer not to think about where those tasty ass Chicken McNuggets came from in the first place. Well, I was wrong, very, very wrong.
Maybe the McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets of yesteryear were terrifying pink globs of God knows what but that was before the general public have a shit about knowing where their food came from and how it’s made. That sort of food preparation doesn’t fly anymore, and as noted over on UNILAD there’s nothign to worry about with the modern Chicken McNugget:
Meat scientist (don’t ask) Amy Steward takes us through the whole process, showing the breast, rib and tenderloin meat which goes into the nuggets and explaining how the skin is removed at the start but a small portion of it is added back later for extra flavour.
In the clip you can see a line of workers carving chickens before the cuts are put through a course grinder.
After the skin is mixed back in, the nuggets are passed through a thin layer of batter then a thin layer of breader – containing flavourings like celery salt and white pepper.
The final step is the Tempura, or thicker batter, which is really unique to the nugget. It’s a blend of wheat flour, cornflour, starches and leavening agents which aerate the batter. That’s what makes the nuggets really unique.
There you have it. Real chicken, non-offensive preparation, and really not much to worry about at all. Sure, they’re not healthy but that’s not what we’re talking about here is it?
…(h/t UNILAD)…