Fast Food Chicken Nuggets Ranked From Worst To Best

Nuggs not drugs.

LOGISTICS:

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Two highly qualified chicken nugget experts set out on a magical journey to rank the most notable fast food nuggets of ALL TIME based on five categories:

• Smell

• Aesthetics

• Insides

• Addictiveness

• Tastiness

They combined each other's scores to achieve this ultimate ranking. The results are irrefutable.

8. Burger King

Claire de Louraille / Christian Zamora / BuzzFeed

Christian: I literally inhaled these nuggets as a child AND I LITERALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHY. These nuggets smelled like someone's breath after eating sour cream and onion chips (trust me, I'd know) and had an unnatural burnt orange color to them. They looked super crispy, but turned out to be soggy as fuck. If I actually had it my way, I'd for(nug)get these were ever in my mouth.

Claire: So I actually thought the sour cream and onion smell was delicious and tantalizing but the actual nuggets tasted AWFUL! The breading was fairly even but absolutely soggy. The shape was "blah" and the nuggets were surprisingly small compared to all the other nuggets. I remember them being tastier when I was younger too? WTF happened BK?

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7. El Pollo Loco

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Christian: I honestly had so much hope for these golden nuggets. Like the best things in life, they had so much girth to them I assumed I'd love these nuggs in my mouth! WRONG. These guys were basically fried battered balls filled with a smidgen of chicken. I love me a good sopapilla, but not when it's trying to disguise itself as a chicken nugget.

Claire: Could nugget breading GET any more inconsistent? However, the meat did have a nice grain to it and while they tasted like 100% grease and no chicken, I kind of liked that? Does that make me a gross person? The meat inside was all white and didn't have any veins, but the meat was DRY AS FUCK. Lots of nugg for the size though.

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6. Jack in the Box

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Christian: These Jack in the Box nuggets had about 50 shades of brown to them but not one shade got the blood flowin'. They were fairly small compared to the other nuggs and reeked of an intense pepper scent. I know this is too easy but HIT THE ROAD JACK.

Claire: SMALL. ASS. NUGGETS. These nuggets are literally tiny and flat and the breading is crazy heavy on one side, what's up with that? These were surprisingly crispy and the seasoning is nice, but my god, these were tiny nuggets. Would not eat again.

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5. KFC

Claire de Louraille / Christian Zamora / BuzzFeed

Christian: I would say the experience I had with these nuggets is comparable to a one-night stand — good for the moment, but I ain't gonna be callin' Colonel Sanders back for another taste. The main thing that turned me off from these nuggets was the chewy vein I bit into. I, of course, made the best of the situation and ate around it, but honestly that piece was so veiny it probably thinks this post is about it.

Claire: Omg, Christian's vein cartilage thing was the grossest thing ever and I'm glad there wasn't any of that nonsense in my nuggets. These were small, but dense, and the seasoning was nice but was SOOOOOOO salty! I felt like my insides were drying out! The breading was a bit uneven, but I ate the whole box so I guess I liked them.

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4. Wendy's

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Christian: Let's face it — Wendy is the most iconic redhead the world has given us aside from Ginger Spice. Unfortunately, her nuggets didn't do her legendary locks quite the justice they deserved. Wendy's nuggets were more pale than the others, like my body in the winter vs. the summer. But, unlike most of the other nuggets, there was a distinct chicken taste to them that was greatly appreciated. I wasn't quite in a full-blown Wendaze, but these nuggets were a far fry from those tragic BK nuggets.

Claire: I was pretty excited to eat these and I don't know why — I just had a good feeling about them! The ratio of breading and spices was PRIME, but these nuggs were kind of on the small side. The meat inside was clean but oddly porous and I have Trypophobia so that made me pretty nauseous. I tried not to think about the gaping holes in my chicken meat while inhaling these because they were still tasty.

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3. McDonald's

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Christian: Everyone knows what these nuggets taste like because McDonald's bas'cally invented the chicken nugget. All these other fast food nuggs are trying to copy the magic inside of them; some failed miserably *cough* BK *cough* but some actually did it better. There's not much else to say besides the fact these tasted like my childhood, but they aren't quite suited for my adult palate.

Claire: I love McDonald's McNuggets and I will until the day I die. I have such nostalgia for these nuggs, they were my FAVE when I was young and I would savor every little bite like Gollum with the ring in Lord of The Rings. I will say that these have more of a "McDonald's-y" taste more than a specific chicken nugget taste, but I'm down with that. Slather a bit of sweet and sour sauce on these and I'd eat them for every meal.

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2. Chick-fil-A

Claire de Louraille / Christian Zamora / BuzzFeed

Christian: In my opinion, Chick-fil-A has the best-tasting nuggets of all time. Like, no other nugget has better quality chicken and fried batter than sweet Fil-A. Social issues aside, the Chick-Fil-A nugget is BAE.

Claire: Christian definitely messed with this ranking because there is NO FUCKING WAY Chick-fil-A has better chicken nuggets than McDonald's. I don't know what the deal is with these nuggets — I mean, they ARE delicious but we all know Chick-fil-A is problematic!!! I'm legit upset that these are somehow ranked higher than McDonald's nuggets.

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1. Carl's Jr.

Claire de Louraille / Christian Zamora / BuzzFeed

Christian: I was honestly SHOCKED by these Carl's Jr. nuggets. Shaped like stars, these nuggs had me addicted. Carl's son has always given me ~stomach issues~ after eating his food, but these evenly fried and perfectly crunchy nuggets gave me LIVEarrhea. Pepto pre-game before these delicious nuggets and you'll be seeing STARS once they hit your tastebuds.

Claire: SHOCKER!!! Totally was not expecting to love the taste of Carl's Jr. nuggets as much as I did. I don't remember them being that tasty when I was younger but man, Carl's Jr. has really been stepping up its game in the nugg department. Fun shapes that offer some pizazz, yummy chicken taste, and pleasant smell. Move over Beyoncé, these nuggets are the REAL triple threat.

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