Given the number of plant-based chicken nuggets I’ve been testing of late – I’ve been having something of a get to know you again moment, with regular chicken nuggets. To see just how close vegan based versions of this dish are really coming along – I wanted to re-familarize myself with this most industrial and processed of snacks.
Nuggets are of course an oft-derided product, given their generally reconstituted nature. But hey, shhh, I have a secret… I love a good nugget. Who doesn’t love salt and fat and sugar… and then dipping it in some more.
Cooking: Easy as pie. In fact easier. Like most nuggets you will find yourself microwaving these to life in no more than a few seconds. You can of course deep fry, bake, air fryer, scoot them closer to the sun etc. You’re really just re-heating a pre-cooked amalgamation of ‘something and something else’.
Taste and texture: This product from Foster Farms is the defacto of nugget expectations when it comes to taste. There’s a vague suggestion of something meaty with a hint of garlic and onion. It’s all very neutral and not at all unappealing. The texture again is typical, a spongey reformed squarish lump. The breading is thinner and doesn’t bring much to the party. Some way prefer a heavier coating or crunchier batter.
Overall: I quite like these, in a much of a muchness way. They’re a good touch stone of what a consumer would expect coming into a store and looking for a regular chicken nugget. Naysayers will of course heap scorn on poor little things.
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Overall
Are Foster Farms Breast Nuggets any good?
These are a perfect example of the typical chicken nugget. Industrially processed and shaped with a neutral flavor that’s ready for dipping and dunking in your favorite sauce.
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.
I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen. Follow along on Instagram too!
Too bad I can’t leave a picture to show how stupidly tiny these nuggets have gotten recently. The bag is mixed with some regular normal size nuggets and then there are these tiny half sized nibblet nuggets. If your going to cut the weight back just remove some nuggets, adjust your package label with new weight and move on. Don’t sell a grab bag of different sized nuggets. Then you have these kids that are like “what is this?” and “he got more than me!” Your not helping parents around the world here Foster Farms.