We Tried the McDonald’s Chicken Big Mac and Here’s What We Really Thought

It’s not a Big Mac, but it’s definitely delicious.

McDonald’s debuted the Chicken Big Mac to U.S. diners on Thursday, Oct. 10, and one day prior, members of the media enjoyed an exclusive taste at corporate headquarters in Chicago.

Instead of two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun, the Chicken Big Mag features two tempura-battered and fried white meat chicken patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles … on a sesame seed bun. (Onions not included.)

“Our chefs got in the kitchen, developed the perfect patty,” Yue Ji, culinary manager for McDonald’s, told the reporters. “The savory flavor really goes well with the tangy, creamy Big Mac sauce.”

There is a full ounce of Big Mac sauce on the new sandwich, which Wayne Kuhl, senior manager of proteins for McDonald’s U.S., said was in response to customer demand.

“We need to continue to drive on flavor. Our consumers want bolder flavors,” he said. “So that’s what we’ll focus on.”

Though Ji said that the chicken patties “share similar ingredients and same type of breading system” to the brand’s nuggets, Kuhl clarified that they’re “not a giant McNugget. Similar yes, but it’s not the same.”

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So, how does it taste?

The chicken patties have a perfectly crispy crunch when you first bite in, complemented by the delicious Big Mac sauce and fresh lettuce. Some of the tasters assembled even said they like the Big Mac sauce better on the chicken sandwich than they do the original beef.

Admittedly, all that sauce makes it a touch messy (grab extra napkins!) and means the cheese — one slice for the whole sandwich — gets a little lost. Though for this tester, that didn’t matter — I wasn’t missing it.

Overall, the simplicity is the secret, well, sauce. Despite the messiness, having just a handful of ingredients makes every bite even and expected, which is kind of what you want from your McDonald’s order.

The sandwiches are only available for a limited time. But Kuhl hinted that something similar might be cooking in the McDonald’s test kitchens.

“Chicken is a major growth category for us,” he shared. “We’re going to continue to pursue within that category.”