Fast Food

McDonald’s is no stranger to chicken. Between the iconic McChicken and McNuggets, and more recent endeavors like the Chicken Big Mac, poultry has established a place on the menu. Even discontinued McDonald’s items like the Mighty Wings and Chicken Fajitas prove that Ronald himself is coming for Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.

If you remember, McDonald’s had Chicken Selects on its menu for 10 years before discontinuing them in 2013. The next iteration, Buttermilk Crispy Tenders, was around from 2017 until 2020. I’ve tried all of McDonald’s previous chicken tenders in my lifetime, and the fast-food critic in me needed an honest taste of the new McCrispy Strips.

To be transparent, the strips were lackluster. The chicken itself tasted fine, so that wasn’t my problem. McDonald’s promised that the chicken strips would be “made with juicy, 100% white meat, coated with crispy golden-brown breading and bursting with a bold, new black pepper flavor.”

My stomach yearned for a thick, crunchy coating that would have me visiting McDonald’s constantly like the Snack Wraps used to. That’s not what I got.