Like the fast-food kid’s meal, and the drive-through window, many people assume McDonald’s invented the chicken nugget. Certainly, when we think of chicken nuggets McDonald’s is generally the first thing to come to mind. It is fair to say that McDonald’s popularized chicken nuggets and brought them into the mainstream when they introduced McNuggets in 1980, but this was long after they were invented.
Defining Chicken Nuggets
Before stating who invented chicken nuggets we have to make sure we are on the same page. Just what are chicken nuggets? Little pieces of white meat chicken, dredged and fried, are often called chicken nuggets. These are seen as a healthier and more ‘real’ alternative to processed chicken nuggets.
For our purposes here, however, we must define chicken nuggets as little chunks of processed, ground chicken with fillers that are dredged and fried. After all, why should we make a point of naming the first person to cut a piece off of a chicken breast and fry it?
So, Who Really Invented Chicken Nuggets?
The inventor was a food scientist named Robert Baker, who thought up these crispy little nuggets in the 1950s. He was looking for a way to use leftover chicken and he actually published his recipe in the 1950s without bothering to patent the invention. Since then, the basic way chicken nuggets are made hasn’t changed much, although the quality and proportions of the ingredients used may vary.
Robert Baker wasn’t just some kitchen tinkerer. He was a poultry science and food science professor at the prestigious Cornell University, one of the leading centers of food research in the country. He also invented the classic, Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce, as well as turkey ham, and poultry hot dogs (something better left uninvented?)
However, Baker’s nuggets never proved very popular. This is often the case with new food inventions. They just looked too strange: Not like chicken! But when McDonald’s started selling their Chicken McNuggets, a term that they trademarked, the public was willing to give them a try, and they’ve been a mainstay ever since.
What many readers will not know is that the introduction of McNuggets began in 1979 and they were not born in a McDonald’s food lab. Instead, McDonald’s commissioned the chicken giant Tyson Foods to create them. They essentially consisted of finely ground chicken and phosphate salts. Today, nuggets are made from either mechanically separated chicken (MSC), or white meat, mixed with mostly corn-based binders and fillers.
The biggest complaint about the modern chicken nugget is that it contains very little chicken! It’s true. Some commercial chicken nuggets contain up to 37 ingredients. As said, the majority of these come from corn. If you want more chicken with your chicken nuggets, look for products that contain mostly white meat and a few other ingredients as possible.
As for McDonald’s, their chicken nuggets today are made from white meat chicken, but of course, there are other ingredients!
Not Just About Chicken Nuggets
Robert Baker was much more than the chicken nugget inventor, and he wasn’t just interested in creating a way to make chicken into odd shapes like dinosaurs.
If chicken nuggets had never taken off, he may not have been remembered as the “nugget man.” He was at work during a time when there was little profit in selling whole birds, as the price of chickens had dropped tremendously in the global market.
He wanted to find ways to add value to chicken after processing, and he really should be given credit for having kicked off chicken processing as we know it today. Some would say “credit” is not the right word, but they are probably munching on some chicken nuggets as they say it.
Other Notes About Robert Baker The Nugget Man
- Co-invented the machine used to debone chicken
- Invented over 40 poultry, turkey, and cold cut related products
- Created a new way to bind breading to chicken
- Founded Cornell University’s Institute of Food Science and Marketing
- Member of the American Poultry Hall of Fame
- Called the ‘George Washington Carver’ of Poultry
- Besides being called the Nugget Man he was also called Barbecue Bob
- Brought his famous Cornell Chicken to the state fair in Syracuse each summer for many years
- Created a new way to bind breading to chicken
- Created frozen french toast
- Involved in the development of the vacuum packaging used in the chicken industry
- Started Baker’s Acres with his wife, in North Lansing just down the road from Cornell (see website)
