Wilder Shaw / Cheapism
Burgers have always been the backbone of McDonald’s, but Chicken McNuggets have been a longstanding fan favorite since the ‘80s. Despite their popularity, McDonald’s has never really been too well known for its chicken offerings. But with the brand new chicken strips they’ve debuted, they now offer seven distinct-ish dishes.
Want to know how the McCrispy Strips compare? I tasted and ranked all seven and found out.
Prices and availability are subject to change.
$2.79
I tend to lean on the McChicken when I hit McDonald’s; the weird, flat chicken puck you get on this sandwich nowhere near resembles a real piece of fried chicken, but I like it. It’s simple and tasty, and all you need is a little bit of shredduce and mayo, though I like to add a pickle. What’s funny is that it seems somebody tipped off my local McDonald’s that extremely famous food critic Wilder Shaw would be coming in, because this thing was more expertly fried than I think I’ve ever seen. They had the A-Team working the line. Nice job out there.
$2.89 for 4 / $3.99 for 6 / $4.99 for 10
It’s impossible not to feel sucked right back into your 10 year-old self when you pull back the box and look down on some fresh McNuggets. The different shapes are as inviting as they ever were. They still dunk well. This particular batch was pretty moist. Nuggies are timeless for a reason.
$5.29
McDonald’s is obviously incredibly proud of its new “McCrispy” version of chicken, because they’ve got five different versions of it. That’s a damn shame, because it’s painfully dry, and barely seasoned. Like, this thing tastes like true nothingness. What’s in this batter?
The “Deluxe” comes with mayo, lettuce, and tomato, and because the chicken is so tough, anything wet, crunchy, and globbby helps.
$5.29
I like the spicy sauce here a lot. It’s actually pretty spicy, which I feel is a rarity in fast food. Unfortunately, you need something lighter, like regular mayo, to help loosen this whole situation up. If you were to add mayo and mix it together with the spicy sauce, you ask? Good question, then this would have ranked third.
$4.99 for 3 / $5.99 for 4
Did even one person attempt to say “McCrispy Strips” out loud before they went with this? It’s a tongue-twister, like something you’d say as a vocal warmup. McCrispy Strips. McCrispy Strips.
Sorry. Lost myself there. These aren’t bad, though they’re aggressively seasoned. In fact, they border on too salty, but when you dunk ‘em in a sauce container, for which they are the perfect shape, they’re a lot better. I’m not really sure why you’d choose these over nuggets, but I wouldn’t think too hard about it if you did.
$4.89
Generally I am bad at math, but this equation is pretty simple. The McCrispy fried chicken patty is dry and tastes like nothing, so the more you add to it, the more flavor it’s going to pick up. So this sandwich, which is just the patty and some spicy sauce, isn’t packing a lot of flavor.
$4.69
Remember what I said above? Yeah, this is just the sandwich and some pickles. It doesn’t come with mayo, which is absolutely bananas to me. Why are they making this sandwich as dry as possible? Add mayo, people. Or better yet, get the McChicken.
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