Despite McDonald's best efforts, you've probably seen a super gross photo of the "pink slime" that allegedly makes up McNuggets. The photos, which were circulated a few years ago, were enough to turn anyone off to chicken nugs forever – it's one of those images that just stays in your mind.
After plenty of debate (and a major PR campaign from Mickey D's) Mythbusters' Grant Imahara went to a Tyson Foods plant to watch how the chicken nuggets are really made, and the video is surprisingly much less disgusting than you'd think. It was filmed back in 2014, but has resurfaced lately along with other questions regarding how processed food is made.
Keep in mind, compensation was provided by McDonald's, as clearly noted in the video, but it seems unlikely they would go through such effort to stage the entire "making of" process.
Nugget fans will be happy to know there is no pink slime in the food, and in fact the only parts of a chicken used are the breast, rib meat, tenderloin, and skin. Imahara confirms with his tour guide there are no beaks or feet involved (ew), and the video shows factory workers cutting up chickens on an assembly line just like you would at home.
The chicken parts are then put into an industrial-size grinder and come out in a very course grind, though the result definitely looks more like actual chicken than that infamous snake-like photo.
If you're a vegetarian, or just not a fan of looking at raw meat (guilty), the "lava-like" mixture as Imahara puts it is still pretty gross looking, but hey, at least it is 100 percent white meat.
The nuggets are then dipped in batter, breaded in a mixture with celery and white pepper, and dropped in tempura coating batter, which is made of wheat flour, corn flour, starches, and leavening agents.
Interestingly, the chicken isn't fully cooked at the plants, just heated enough to let the batter set. They are then shipped to individual restaurants where they are cooked before being sold.
In jobs we kind of wish we had, Imahara then visited the "sensory kitchen," where nuggets are evaluated every hour. Workers inspect chicken off the line to make sure they are a light golden brown color with ridges and peaks, have a slightly firm texture but are still juicy, and have a chicken flavor with slight pepper and celery notes.
All in all, the process is much easier to watch than expected. While there are still obviously many healthier things to eat, you can rest easy the next time you crave some nuggets knowing they're made with the same parts of a chicken you normally consume.
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