Anthony Bourdain Absolutely Despised This Popular McDonald's Item

Chef, author, and travel enthusiast Anthony Bourdain was unabashedly firm in his culinary opinions, whether that be Bourdain's disdain for English muffins, his love of gloriously ugly yet delicious foods, or the "Parts Unknown" host's all-consuming hatred of fast food. He even memorably decried fast-food culture as a whole as "the enemy," in an article for The Guardian. Bourdain was never shy about criticizing the fast food giants either, including pretending that famed clown mascot Ronald McDonald was abducting children to dissuade his daughter from becoming a fan of McDonalds, calling it a "campaign of psychological warfare." And if there's one fast food item, from the world-conquering chain, that Bourdain made crystal clear he abhorred above all else, it was McDonald's iconic chicken McNuggets.

In his life as a chef and as the lead of several beloved, culinary-focused travel shows, Bourdain ate more than his fair share of unusual foods, including a warthog anus in Namibia, which he imbibed after being offered the tough, chewy, grilled meat as a guest of honor. Later, Bourdain mentioned that if he was given a choice between eating warthog anus again or a chicken McNugget, he would gladly opt for the McNugget. However, the late chef also pointed out that while he knew exactly what he was eating with the warthog, the contents of a McDonald's chicken nugget were more of a mystery. Bourdain's skepticism was warranted, given there are roughly 30 different ingredients in McDonald's McNuggets. 

While McDonald's proudly states that its McNuggets are made predominantly from chicken, specifically white meat chicken, without any artificial flavors, colorings, or preservatives, it's hard to shake the memories that many of us retain of the infamous pink slime photo that circulated in 2010. In fact, McDonalds uses three different cuts of chicken for its McNuggets, which the company details on its website, but the complete list of ingredients is difficult to find. According to NPR, the beginning of the McNugget making process does indeed involve white meat chicken being removed from its carcass, which is then ground up and mixed with seasonings before being shaped into one of four molds. From there, the shapes are enveloped in a tempura-like batter, which accounts for the unique texture of the coating, before being fried and frozen.

Personally, as a professionally-trained chef that can never turn down a chicken tender, I recently ate a few McDonald's chicken McNuggets and was horrified by both the texture and the taste. As opposed to a chicken tender, where breaking off a piece usually reveals the strands of whole chicken meat being pulled apart, a chicken McNugget has a spongy, porous texture that only vaguely whispers of meat product. Their thin coating also leaves much to be desired, with a meager, homogenous shell that lacks the delicious cragginess of other breaded then fried chicken products. I agree wholeheartedly with Anthony Bourdain, and would only chose McNuggets if faced with a dire alternative.