Test: which supermarket chicken nuggets are the tastiest?
If you’re really craving chicken nuggets, which supermarket should you go to for the very best ones? It’s a question not many people knew the answer to—until Snackspert took on the big supermarket chicken nugget test. Thank you, Eke, now we know which ones to buy—and, above all, which ones to leave in the freezer.
I have to be honest right away: I’m not a huge fan of supermarket chicken nuggets. At my local chip shop in Breda, they sell homemade nuggets, and they’re truly… Irresistible. They can’t be compared with any frozen variety. (In this article about culinary hotspots in Breda, I already recommended the chip shop—for exactly that reason.) But anyway, I’ve since moved. Those homemade chicken nuggets are no longer near me. And making them myself all the time… I’m not keen on that either. So which supermarket nuggets should we buy, according to Snackspert?
Snackspert: this is the top 10 (or actually top 9)
Snackspert tested 10 different boxes of chicken nuggets. Three of them were Lidl brands. Apparently, that makes it the ultimate frozen-nugget paradise. Especially since the test also shows that the very best ones come from there, of course.
The results
1. Duca: Duca’s are truly on another level. Excellent coating, delicious chicken. Definitely my favorite now.
2. Lidl Premium: I think these are the best from Lidl.
3. Lekker en Anders: These are simply very good.
3. Mekkafood: I think these come from the same factory as Lekker en Anders?
4. Aldi: They’re simply fine. Nice and juicy inside, properly crispy on the outside.
5. Mora: Mora is simply fine. Nothing more, nothing less.
6. Jumbo: Meh, a bit spongy too.
7. Lidl Culinea: the coating tastes more like a Dutch doughnut than a classic snack-bar nugget. The meat is a little dry. I find these pretty meh.
8. Albert Heijn: Albert Heijn’s have very little flavor.
9. Lidl BizBiz: these also have very little flavor, more like a chicken nugget that has been sitting in the sun for three days—and not in the freezer. Meh.
As you can see, a top 9 emerged—and there’s a tie for third place. Because Snackspert is convinced that the Lekker en Anders and Mekkafood nuggets come from the same factory, he couldn’t distinguish between them.
The undisputed winner: Duca
So the undisputed winner is: Duca! Snackspert is absolutely thrilled with these chicken nuggets. Eke was particularly enthusiastic about the coating and the chicken. On Duca’s website, it says that the nuggets consist of 100% pieces of chicken breast, which are “cut and coated by hand.” That’s why they’re so delicious. A commenter on Snackspert’s video adds some further explanation: “It’s important to mention that Duca uses chicken breast, not compressed mechanically separated chicken meat. That makes a huge difference!” (@kosterific)
Apparently, you can get Duca chicken nuggets at Albert Heijn and Dirk. Good to know there’s a decent replacement for my much-loved, much-missed handmade chicken nuggets from Breda.
Extra tip
An extra tip from Snackspert’s followers: Duca’s karaage is apparently incredibly delicious too. “Duca’s karaage is genuinely really good for a home product,” says @wouterstern. “Duca karaage is also great for a poke bowl! Unfortunately, it’s very hard to find,” writes @daniellewoutersen. Definitely worth trying.
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