Are you Team Nugget or Team Dipper? Is there even a difference? 🤔
Is there a difference between a nugget and a dipper? Do you prefer the tiny golden morsels or are you more a fan of long and crispy? 😉
Today, we're taking a look at the differences between everyone's favourite (let's not lie) frozen food to help you decide if you're part of Team Nugget or Team Dipper!
The Nugget vs Dipper Round
Whether you were raised to believe that nuggets were bad for you or not, you've most likely had them at least once in your life. 😏
And usually, those told to steer clear of nuggets are then plated up a portion of dippers instead - because "they have real chicken in them". But guess what, Karen: chicken, whether minced or sliced is still chicken. Can't get any realer than that. 💁♀️
Team Nugget
Admittedly, nuggets will sometimes have a few added ingredients with names longer than the contents of the dictionary (we're looking at you, Ronald!). 😳 But if you break those ingredients down into what they actually are, you'll find they're probably in a lot of other things you eat, too.
Most quality nuggets will contain some form of binder. Homemade nugs typically use an egg, similar to how you would bind your meatballs or stuffing.
Nuggets are a lot like cake, in that respect. 🤪
Except, they're made of chicken and bitesize.
Team Dipper
With the obvious out the way, let's look at the humble chicken dipper. 👀
Pretentiously referred to as "goujons" by some, a dipper is simply sliced chicken coated in breadcrumbs and fried.
Sidenote: if your friends are grilling their dippers then they are not good friends. 🤡
Where foodies get off on the idea of dippers is that their coating is completely customisable. You can always add some garlic powder to your nugget batter but you know it won't be the same. And this is all assuming you're actually making them from scratch. 🤣
For the lazy ones among us, aka you and me, you'd be surprised to find a plethora of dippers at your disposal when you next stroll the freezer aisle.
So, really what’s the chicken crack?
Arguably, both a nugget and dipper can be called the same thing. But real foodies know the difference. We also know that a goujon is something more fitting for a fish. Again, this is obvious. 😎
And if you had to compare the two in terms of affordability - nuggets will always come out on top. This is mainly due to the fact that minced chicken doesn't need to be a specific cut. You can use any part of the chicken in the nugget process.
This is also most likely where the rumor of McDonald's nuggets being made from whole baby chicks got its start in life. 🙄
This further pushed nuggets as an "unhealthy" choice for consumers, and you know what? Even that didn't faze most of us - McNuggets are still a thing (and we hope they always will be).
Where nuggets are able to utilise the dark meat of our favourite edible bird, dippers rely solely on the breast for that contrast of bright white you see when you take your first bite.
Nuggets are tender because they are minced, giving the chicken an even and consistent texture. Dippers are rough around the edges, requiring high quality meat or brining before cooking.
Nuggets can take some hefty prep to reach the end goal, but dippers can be super easy - slice some breast, dredge in flour and coatings of your choice (hint: crushed Doritos are bomb) and fry.
If chicken was the world, imagine nuggets as yin and dippers as yang. Where one falls short, the other picks up slack.
But there is a reason why most restaurants and food chains began to usher in the dipper as an alternative.
And no, that reason is not just because chicken is delicious. It was exactly that: a choice beyond just what sauce to accompany.
A choice you now get to make every time you crave boneless chicken. Do you want the classic nugget box or are you after a more hearty spread of juicy chicken dippers? 💪
Regardless of what you do order, make sure you enjoy every bite. 🤤
Comments