How To Enjoy McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, Employee-Style

"If you want something done right, consult a professional" is solid advice when foodies need their kitchen sink fixed or to find a trustworthy recipe. But, in the food world, enlisting the help of a pro also applies when it comes to nailing your fast-food order. In TikToker @alexis.frost's "Eating What Employees Would Order" series, the video creator tries the secret-menu items that fast-food employees swear by for their own shift meals. Inspired by one particular McDonald's hack that she shared, epicures far and wide are taking a cue from the pros and venturing off-menu. This particular McDonald's menu hack has accrued over 274K likes: Order a six-piece chicken McNuggets with ranch dipping sauce and a side of crinkle-cut pickles.

To enjoy, simply stack a pickle slice or two directly on top of each nugget, then dunk the whole thing in ranch. Every bite is packed with savory, acidic, tangy, creamy interplay. To wash it down, Frost pairs the avant-garde McNugget meal with an equally imaginative, employee-recommended sipper: Hi-C soda spiked with creamer (dirty soda fans, rise up). Not unlike the when-worlds-collide McNugget order, this drink combo fuses orange pop with luscious cream for a fizzy, sippable take on a creamsicle that feels oh-so-right. As Frost puts it, "Bomb. Try this one. 10." The post's comments section is filled with hundreds of enthusiastic foodies, who agree, "[T]hat all looks bomb!" and "Okay I have to try this."

The flavor-mashup customization doesn't have to end there, either. Commenters on the post mention their own approaches to the ordering hack, including swapping the Hi-C for strawberry Fanta with creamer, or dunking the pickle-nuggets in buffalo sauce instead of ranch. Other subsequent foodie fan videos (like this one by @sharidyonner) taste-test the McNugget-and-pickle slider meal with every single dipping sauce on the Mickey D's menu — a buffalo-ranch two-sauce dunk comes highly recommended, as well as a Mac-sauce-and-barbecue dipper. Quoth the poster, "It's literally the same thing as if you get a chicken sandwich with pickles on it and no bun."

In a follow-up TikTok, Frost can be seen in her home kitchen with dishes of chicken nuggets (not from Mickey D's), pickle slices, and ranch spread out on the countertop, raving, "Favorite combo setup here." In this video, Frost sandwiches each nugget between two pickle chips before dunking the whole thing in ranch, remarking "Heaven on earth." This video points out an important point: This viral chicken-nugget-pickle-ranch flavor combination totally works with frozen tendies at home, which can be a huge plus for budget-conscious consumers. Folks don't even have to hit the McDonald's drive-thru to get a taste of the good stuff. Although, if you are swinging through those Golden Arches, this pickle-ranch McNugget hack definitely belongs in your ordering rotation.