Like Spider-Man movies, McDonald’s has rebooted its chicken strips multiple times. First, there were the Chicken Selects (Tobey Maguire). Then, there were the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders (Andrew Garfield). And now, the fast food chain has once again dipped its toes into the extended dippable poultry universe with its McCrispy Strips (Tom Holland).
McDonald’s uses 100% white meat chicken coated with a crispy golden brown breading that features a new black pepper flavor for the new menu item. Along for the ride is the new Creamy Chili Dip, a savory, sweet, and tangy sauce that McDonald’s says “unlocks the full Strips experience.” The chicken is available in 3- and 4-piece orders, and both options come with two sauces of your choice. But, spoiler alert, I REALLY recommend getting the Creamy Chili Dip, which I’ll get to in a moment.
The first thing that caught my eye about the McCrispy Strips was how McLong they were. They seemed more impressive than the previous McDonald’s offerings. Also impressive was how tender and juicy the meat was. However, I wish the “crispy golden brown breading” was crispier. There’s some texture, especially on the edges, but for the most part, I find the Chicken McNuggets to have a crispier exterior. That’s disappointing for something that seems more premium than chicken nuggets. As for its flavor, it has a light pepperiness that makes these okay enough to eat sans sauce, but you NEED to eat them with the Creamy Chili Dip.
I’ve had Raising Cane’s once, and all I remember is how much I liked the Cane’s Sauce more than the chicken fingers. And I can say the same thing about these McCrispy Strips. While the chicken doesn’t blow away my taste buds, the Creamy Chili Dip does, and I hope it never leaves. Its tangy and peppery flavor brings to mind what I remember Cane’s Sauce tasting like, and it perfectly complements the McCrispy Strips’ flavor. However, there were times when I thought the chicken strip with the sauce got a bit too salty. But overall (I can’t believe I’m about to type this), I might love this Creamy Chili Dip as much as my beloved Hot Mustard Sauce. And I look forward to trying it with Chicken McNuggets.
McDonald’s says the McCrispy Strips are a permanent item, but it’s hard to tell if it will cement them into the menu like the Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets. History shows that McDonald’s has an on-and-off relationship with chicken strips. Only time will tell if they stay. If they end up disappearing, I won’t be too sad. But if the Creamy Chili Dip goes, I may McCry.
Purchased Price: $5.99*
Size: 3-piece order
Rating: 8 out of 10 (with Creamy Chili Dip)
Nutrition Facts: (w/o sauce) 350 calories, 17 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 1100 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 30 grams of protein.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
I had a 4-piece order of these earlier this week ($6.29, I think, here in central IL), but wasn’t quite daring enough to try the Creamy Chili Sauce. The strips were still good with my usual Ranch sauce, but I’ll have to try the Creamy Chili Sauce next time. (I wonder how that sauce would taste with McNuggets?)
daring? the sauce tastes like Mac sauce mixed with mayo. Nothing special at all but not complete trash. Nothing daring about it at all.
I see the 8/10 rating, but I don’t think these hold a candle next to the old Chicken Selects they had. The Chicken Selects were GOATED due to the insane amount of delicious crispy breading, which gave it that crunch that rivaled KFC’s extra crispy tenders IMO. Which leads me to think that McDonald’s definitely cut the costs to make these. I’ll stick to my usual double cheeseburgers with 3x’s extra Mac Sauce lol.
Not sure if mine were cooked wrong but they were barely edible. Absolutely no crunch on the breading and chicken had that awful texture that chicken can get where it felt like I was biting into a raw piece.. sauce was good with the fries at least.
They look like bigger versions of the old school Burger King kids meal chicken tenders
Yeah, I was very disappointed by the lack of breading or crispiness on these. Both the Chicken Selects and the Buttermilk Crispy Tenders had WAY more crunch. I will say that they were at least very flavorful, both because of the peppery breading and because they seem to have really marinated them. They were the rare tenders that are tasty without sauce, although the chili sauce was good (even though I’m not nearly as into it or Cane’s sauce as a lot of people are)
They seem to be going for “Raising Cane’s, only the strips are actually flavorful on their own” and honestly that could be a winning formula for them. I personally would have preferred something crispier and closer to their past two attempts though. 6/10
My teenager got these last week, and we also thought the chicken and breading were fine but unremarkable – not enough crunch.
To us, the Creamy Chili Sauce had ginger and soy flavors, like it was trying to be Asian-inspired without saying so. Because I didn’t expect it, I found it kinda off-putting, though the sauce wasn’t bad, per se.
8 of 10 for a shit product that is at best a 5 is certainly something ?
Yep, differing opinions sure is a crazy concept that’s (apparently) difficult to grasp.