Bottom Line: The Fiery Chicken Nuggets from Burger King may not be as spicy as promised, but they have a kick and go well with the Zesty Sauce.
Chicken is back on the menu for me as the restaurant chains continue to spice up their poultry offerings. And Burger King has put out its fair share of kickin’ chicken over the last few years, with yet another new item just added to the list. They have Fiery Chicken Nuggets available at the drive thru as of this week, and those promise to amp up the heat in the already hot summer months.
The King has actually done a good job at kicking up his menu items in the past, but the chains cater to the average consumer, so they don’t always succeed in bringing the burn that spicy food lovers are looking for. This new, amped up version of their chicken nuggets is coated with a “spicy glaze” that gets its heat from cayenne peppers, bird’s eye chili peppers, and black pepper. As far as nuggets go, I have always thought that BK does a good job. They are the standard battered and deep-fried hunks of ground chicken you expect from a fast food joint, and I actually prefer their version over McDonald’s (I know some will consider that sacrilege).
The Fiery Nuggets are supposed to have a glaze, but I wouldn’t really call it that. They just appear to be well-seasoned, though there is a notable kick of sweetness followed by a peppery bite. The crust of the chicken pieces is not too crispy (which is standard for BK), but it does deliver some decent texture. The meat inside is tender and almost juicy (maybe they just came out of the frier), and these are basically solid chicken nuggets with a little extra bite. Not quite as hot as I would expect when they are throwing in cayenne and bird’s eye chilis, but they still bring some burn.
The King offers the perfect way to kick these up to the next level, though, and that is with his Zesty Sauce. That sauce is usually offered with the onion rings, but I advise asking for some with your Fiery Nuggets. It has a bit of a horseradish kick and some additional peppery heat from the ground cayenne that is added. It also has some sweetness, but that acts as a nice counterbalance to the other seasonings. And when you dip one of those nuggets into the sauce, it adds the extra pop of heat that lovers of spice are looking for.
The Fiery Nuggets by themselves approach the Medium heat level on my scale, which should be okay for the average mortal. They have a nice kick with some decent flavor, and they are about on par with the Spicy Chicken Fries and other kicked up poultry items BK has put out. If you dip them into that Zesty sauce, though, they move above that Medium level and start approaching Hot. And the flavor combination really works well with that little bit of horseradish accentuating the peppery burn.
These come in an order of eight nuggets which only totals up to 530 calories; not too bad for the drive thru. But you know you’re not stopping there. One container of that Zesty Sauce adds 150 cals, and certainly you will be ordering fries or onion rings as well (300 cals for a small order of the former and 280 cals for a small order of rings). So be careful about piling on because it will extend the time you need to spend on that treadmill to burn off those extra calories!
The Fiery Nuggets are of course only around for a limited time. But take comfort in knowing that BK will likely replace them with another spicy offering once they disappear, and likely also in the poultry family. They go for only $2.49 in my area, so an order of these along with a small side shouldn’t set you back more than five or six bucks. And while these may not be quite as fiery as some other chicken offerings from the King, they should satisfy a spicy craving, especially if you dip them in that Zesty Sauce.
Nutrition Info:
Serving Size: 8 Nuggets
Calories: 530
Fat: 39g (7g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 19g
Carbs: 26g
Sodium: 1220mg