chicken nugget

The chicken nugget was developed in the 1950s by Robert C. Baker, a food science professor at Cornell University, and published as unpatented academic work.{{cite web | title=Robert C. Baker obituary |publisher=Cornell University| date=July 11, 2006 | url=http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/Baker_obit.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711180606/http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/Baker_obit.html | archive-date=July 11, 2006 }}{{Cite journal |last=Baker |first=R. C. |last2=Darrah |first2=L. B. |last3=Darfler |first3=J. M. |date=September 1, 1966 |title=The Use of Fowl for Convenience Items |url=https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0451017 |journal=Poultry Science |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=1017-1025}} Bite-sized pieces of chicken, coated in batter and then deep fried, were called "Chicken Crispies" by Baker and his associates. Two problems the meat industry was facing at the time were being able to clump ground meat without a skin and producing a batter coating that could be both deep fried and frozen without becoming detached. Baker's innovations solved these problems and made it possible to form chicken nuggets in any shape by first coating the meat in vinegar, salt, grains, and milk powder to make it hold together and then using an egg- and grain-based batter that could be fried as well as frozen.{{Cite book|title=Tastes like Chicken|last=Rude|first=Emelyn|publisher=Pegasus Books Ltd.|year=2016|isbn=978-1-68177-163-2|pages=149–165}}

Dinosaur-shaped (or simply dino) chicken nuggets were first trademarked by Perdue Farms in 1991, and its rise in popularity was possibly assisted by the success of the Jurassic Park franchise.{{Cite web |last=Hammon |first=Dawn |date=2024-03-19 |title=The Origin Story Of Iconic Dino Chicken Nuggets - The Daily Meal |url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/1541381/history-of-dino-nuggets/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Daily Meal |language=en-US |quote="The story of how dino chicken nuggets got their start is a bit hazy, but one thing we know for sure is they firmly launched onto the scene around the same time the original 'Jurassic Park' movie hit theaters. Coincidence? Maybe. But then again, probably not."}}{{Cite web |date=2021-09-21 |title=Land Before Noms: How Dinosaur-Shaped Chicken Nuggets Came to Walk the Earth |url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/dinosaur-chicken-nuggets |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=MEL Magazine |language=en-US |quote="...Perdue almost definitely invented dinosaur nuggets and Jurassic Park undoubtedly popularized them[.]"}}

Chicken nuggets are generally regarded as a fatty, unhealthy food.{{cite news|last1=Collins, R.D.|first1=Karen|title=Chicken nuggets -- good idea gone bad?|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11653231|access-date=October 29, 2017|work=Nutrition Notes|agency=NBC News|date=March 24, 2006}}{{cite web|last1=Amidor, R.D. C.D.N.|first1=Toby|title=Chick nuggets: Are they healthy?|url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2012/10/chicken-nuggets-are-they-healthy|website=Healthy Eats|publisher=Food Network|access-date=October 29, 2017}} A study published in the American Journal of Medicine analyzed the composition of chicken nuggets from two American fast food chains. It found that less than half of the material was skeletal muscle, with fat occurring in an equal or greater proportion. Other components included epithelial tissue, bone, nervous tissue and connective tissue. The authors concluded that "Chicken nuggets are mostly fat, and their name is a misnomer."{{Cite journal|title = The autopsy of chicken nuggets reads "chicken little"|journal = The American Journal of Medicine|date = November 1, 2013|issn = 1555-7162|pmid = 24035124|pages = 1018–1019|volume = 126|issue = 11|doi = 10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.05.005|first1 = Richard D.|last1 = deShazo|first2 = Steven|last2 = Bigler|first3 = Leigh Baldwin|last3 = Skipworth|doi-access = free}}

{{Further|Poultry farming}}

File:McDonalds-Chicken-McNuggets.jpg from McDonald's]]

The processing required for making chicken nuggets begins with deboning. The chicken is cut and shaped to the correct size. This is done either manually, or by a series of automatic blades, or by a process called grinding (a method of deboning in which the softer parts of the chicken carcass are forced through a mesh, leaving behind the more solid pieces, resulting in a meat paste. If used, this paste is then shaped before battering). The pieces are battered and breaded in a large cylindrical drum that rotates, evenly coating all of the pieces in the desired spices and breading. The pieces are then fried in oil until the batter has set and the outside reaches the desired color. Finally, the nuggets are packaged, frozen and stored for shipping.{{Cite web|title=Poultry Processing and Products|url=http://nfscfaculty.tamu.edu/talcott/courses/FSTC311/Textbook/24-Chapter%2024%20Poultry%20Processing%20and%20Products.pdf|last=Smith|first=Douglas P.|date=2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310021306/http://nfscfaculty.tamu.edu/talcott/courses/FSTC311/Textbook/24-Chapter%2024%20Poultry%20Processing%20and%20Products.pdf|archive-date=March 10, 2016}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/poultry-processing|title=Poultry processing|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=February 6, 2018|language=en}} While specific ingredients and production methods may vary between manufacturers, the above practices hold true for most of the industry.

Chicken nuggets have been the subject of food challenges, social media phenomena, and many more forms of public notoriety. The dish has inspired gourmet restaurants,{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/09/22/you-can-order-a-flight-of-chicken-nuggets-at-the-worlds-first-nugget-tasting-room/|title=You can order a flight of chicken nuggets at the world's first nugget tasting room|last=Carman|first=Tim|date=September 22, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 7, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} exercise routines,{{cite web |url=https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Chicken-Nugget-Yoga-43758771 |title=Chicken Nugget Yoga Actually Exists and We Think We'll Namaste |last=Konecky |first=Perri |date=July 18, 2017 |website=PopSugar |access-date=March 12, 2021}} and even feature-length productions, including Cooties, a movie about a grade school child who eats a chicken nugget infected with a virus that turns prepubescent children into zombies. Thomas Welborn holds the world record for eating the most chicken nuggets in three minutes (746 grams, or approximately 42 chicken nuggets).{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/whats-in-those-chicken-nuggets/|url-status=deviated|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606042011/http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/whats-in-those-chicken-nuggets/|archive-date=June 6, 2017|title=What's Really In That Chicken Nugget?|publisher=The National Chicken Council}}

On Twitter, the most retweeted tweet of 2017 was made by Carter Wilkerson who asked Wendy's what it would take for them to offer him a year of free nuggets. The tweet generated over 3.5 million retweets.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/5048929/most-retweeted-tweets-2017/|title=These Are the 10 Most Widely Shared Tweets of 2017|magazine=Time|language=en|access-date=February 7, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/12/28/2017-was-the-year-of-chicken-nuggets/|title=2017 was the year of chicken nuggets|last=Judkis|first=Maura|date=December 28, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 7, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}

The largest recorded chicken nugget weighed {{convert|51.1|lbs}} and was {{convert|3.25|ft}} long and {{convert|2|ft}} wide and was created by Empire Kosher. It was unveiled at Kosherfest in Secaucus, New Jersey on October 29, 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2013/10/worlds_largest_chicken_nugget_on_display_in_secaucus.html |title=Photos: World's largest chicken nugget on display in Secaucus |date=October 29, 2013 |website=New Jersey On-Line |access-date=October 31, 2013}}

File:Vegan "chicken" nugget.jpg, Canada]]

Vegan "chicken" nuggets are made with plant-based ingredients entered the market in recent years. They are sold by major retailers as vegan chicken nuggets and made from ingredients that include pea protein, soy protein, textured vegetable protein, and wheat gluten.{{Cite web |last=Rauwerda |first=Annie |date=October 6, 2021 |title=What is a vegan chicken nugget? |url=http://www.michigandaily.com/statement/hooked-on-vegan-nuggets/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=The Michigan Daily |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Developing alt-chicken from the Hatchery, Next Gen Foods becomes latest entrant to Chicago's growing plant-based protein market |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-next-gen-foods-plant-based-meat-20220921-2w5zshwos5aotoj6wpehhvgquy-story.html |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=Chicago Tribune|date=September 21, 2022 }} Companies such as Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Morningstar Farms, and Simulate sell vegan chicken nuggets. In 2019, McDonald's trialed vegan McNuggets made of chickpeas and potatoes in Norway.{{Cite news |last2=Amis |first1=Laura |last1=Hampson |first2=Saffron |date=March 20, 2019 |title=McDonald's has just launched vegan chicken nuggets |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/foodanddrink/vegan-mcnuggets-mcdonalds-a4095776.html |access-date=September 22, 2022 |newspaper=Evening Standard |language=en }} Swedish fast food restaurant Max Hamburgare offers a dish containing nuggets made of falafel. Quorn also supplies vegetarian chicken-like nuggets derived from fungus.[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/14/science/what-s-in-those-nuggets-meat-substitute-stirs-debate.html What's in Those Nuggets? Meat Substitute Stirs Debate][http://www.quorn.co.uk/food/snacks/#/food/snacks/chicken-style-nuggets/ Quorn Meat Free Chicken Nuggets] In 2022, KFC began serving vegan chicken nuggets at its 4,000 U.S. locations.{{Cite web |last=Torrella |first=Kenny |date=January 4, 2022 |title=The biggest fast food rollout of meatless fried chicken is happening in January |url=https://www.vox.com/22850410/kfc-beyond-meat-fried-chicken-plant-based-vegan-poultry |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=Vox |language=en}}

In 2022, Michele Simon wrote in Forbes that there were more than 20 brands selling vegan chicken nuggets.{{Cite web |last=Simon |first=Michele |date=April 19, 2022 |title=Have We Reached Peak Vegan Chicken Nugget? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelesimon/2022/04/19/have-we-reached-peak-vegan-chicken-nugget/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=Forbes |language=en}} In 2022, Avery Yale Kamila said in the Portland Press Herald that because young people are the most interested in vegan food, it was not surprising that "vegan foods associated with childhood, such as hot dogs and chicken nuggets, would be the first to partner with youth-oriented TV shows and movies."{{Cite web |last=Kamila |first=Avery Yale |date=August 7, 2022 |title=Vegan Kitchen: More plant-based foods partner with pop culture icons |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2022/08/07/vegan-kitchen-more-plant-based-foods-partner-with-pop-culture-icons/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=Press Herald |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807092338/https://www.pressherald.com/2022/08/07/vegan-kitchen-more-plant-based-foods-partner-with-pop-culture-icons/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022}}{{Subscription required|s}} Vegan "chicken" nuggets have been taste-tested, for example in 2021 by Culture Map Dallas{{Cite web |date=November 15, 2021 |title=Dallas taste-off: Vegan chicken tenders and nuggets in the supermarket |url=https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/11-15-21-vegan-chicken-tenders-impossible-beyond-gardein/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=CultureMap Dallas |language=en}} and in 2022 by Bon Appétit.{{Cite web |last=Sinha |first=Antara |date=August 5, 2022 |title=A Blind Taste Test of Mostly Bad (but 1 Excellent) Vegan Chicken Nuggets |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/vegan-chicken-nugget-taste-test |access-date=September 22, 2022 |website=Bon Appétit |language=en-US}}

{{portal|Food}}

• Among Us chicken nugget
• Chicken McNuggets
• Popcorn chicken
• Chicken tenders
• Fried chicken

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|Chicken nuggets}}

• {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSk26JztY_I |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/ZSk26JztY_I| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Why Chicken Nugget Demand Is Flat|website=YouTube|publisher=CNBC|date=March 20, 2019}}{{cbignore}}

{{Chicken dishes|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicken Nugget}}

Category:American chicken dishes

Category:Convenience foods

Category:Deep fried foods

Category:Fast food