Fast Food Critic - Reviews, News and Nutrition Information about Fast Food.

I have to give Burger King credit for being creative with their Chicken Tenders. Instead of copying the look and shape of McNuggets from McDonald’s, they added a bit of artistic flair to this otherwise boring segment. Plus, sometimes it’s just fun to play with food, and build things, like when we were kids. These bite-sized deep-fried chicken morsels are great for that purpose, and they make some cool photographs too.

But food sculpture aside, it’s hard to get too excited about them (or anybody else’s processed nuggets) because these products are basically the bottom of the fast-food chicken barrel. After they’re finished using the breast filets and top quality cuts for sandwiches, strips and salads, what’s left of the chicken meat gets chopped and mashed-up, then formed into the shapes we consume. There is real breast and rib meat involved, but it’s the left-over scraps. They also use Mechanically Separated Meat or MSM, which is a product and process used in the industry for over 40 years.

The Crown-Shaped Tenders are breaded, instead of battered like the McNuggets. The result is a looser, more bumpy grainy coating, complete with a few falling crumbs. There are nice sized chunks of black pepper laced thru-out the breading. There is not much of a crispy or crunchy sensation, but I wouldn’t call it soggy either. Just soft.

The chicken inside is similar to McNugget’s meat, with a texture that immediately identifies itself as being heavily processed. If you compare the close-up shot of the bitten Crown (below) with the close-up shot of the bitten McNugget, you will see they look almost the same. To me, they taste almost the same too, but the Burger King version might have a slight edge in seasoning. Keeping in mind both are bland.

This segment of fast-food is wildly popular with kids, but I don’t have any children of my own to ask for opinions. So instead I’ve recruited my good friend Ron James, a regular fast-food eater himself who’s fathered several of these miniature humans, and is working hard to keep them fed. I asked for their feelings, and the answer was short and sweet — they like McNuggets better than Tenders. RJ also shared a funny story with me about his youngest son. Sometimes he purchases the chicken sandwich at Jack In The Box, takes the chicken patty out of the bun, and tells his son it’s a Giant chicken nugget. Apparently he loves it, but has a tough time dipping the giant nugget into those little tiny containers of sauce. I laughed out-loud when he told me.

Anyway, in all fairness, I could probably ask another friend with kids and discover they prefer the Burger King variety. I really think it would go back and forth, because we are not comparing apples to oranges. These products are so similar, I feel it’s comes down to personal preference, more than a question of quality or value.

As with most nuggets and finger foods, these are perfect for dipping and offer a choice of sauces: Barbecue, Creamy Buffalo, Honey Mustard, Sweet and Sour, or Ranch.

NOTE: Burger King sold a product under the “Chicken Tenders” name before, and many people ‘think’ of that product when they see those words. The old Tenders were bigger, longer strips of chicken, not nuggets. BK discontinued them, and this current generation of crown-shaped nuggets inherited the name.

The Chicken Tenders (Crown-Shaped) from Burger King are a worthy competitor to the McNuggets. The fact is, they share far more in common than they differ. And quite honestly, neither taste ‘great’. They have a nice assortment of dipping sauces. I’m not a big fan of nuggets in general these days. My tastes have graduated to the more natural, higher quality strips and filets that are available. That said, I feel BK’s nuggets are every-bit as good as McDonald’s, but I don’t find them to be much better.

Price: $2.29 (8 piece) / Website: BurgerKing.com

Fast Food Critic Score: C

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Nutrition Facts - Burger King, Chicken Tenders (8 piece).

Calories - 370
Calories from Fat - N/A
Total Fat - 23 grams
Carbs - 18 grams
Saturated Fat - 6 grams
Trans Fat - 3.5 grams
Cholesterol - 55 milligrams
Sodium - 870 milligrams

N/A = The company has not made the information available.