Arby's Debuts Bold New Nuggets (And They're Not Chicken)

Arby's

Everybody, stop what you're doing: We have nugget news! Arby's is looking to change nuggets as you know them with a new, unexpected type of nugget. While Arby's added chicken nuggets to its value menu in 2021, the restaurant's new limited-time steak nuggets rolled out nationwide on October 6 after having been introduced in select cities over the summer.

Seared, smoked, and seasoned with garlic and black pepper, the steak nuggets are offered as a stand-alone option, in which case, the five- or nine-piece order would be served with a side of BBQ sauce and a fork, but they're also a perfectly appropriate finger food. If you're not into a few tiny meaty morsels piled in a too-big cup (that's right, reviewers have said the portions are rather stingy), you can order the steak nugget sandwich with havarti Cheese, crispy fried onions, pickles and mayo on a toasted bun for the full BBQ experience. A steak nugget bowl is also on offer with steak nuggets atop Mac'n Cheese with the same crispy fried onions. Alternatively, you can toss them atop a salad for a protein packed meal.

Arby's

Positioned as the answer to all of our fast food prayers,  Arby's chief marketing officer, Jeff Baker, said in the press release, "Who doesn't love tender and savory steak? But until now, it's been inconvenient to eat, particularly on the go." Baker added, "Two of America's favorite foods — nuggets and steak — combined to create Arby's steak nuggets." However, in markets where they have been tested, the nuggets haven't quite lived up to the hype. One person who claimed to have tried them on Reddit wrote, "This tasted like a slim Jim mixed with beef jerky and left to soak in hot water. One of the most disgusting things I've ever eaten. I'm an Arby's defender and I'm thinking about never eating there again."

Even though not everyone who has tried them has been out outright revolted by the steak nuggets, Nick O'Malley from MassLive and YouTube reviewer @RobMilanowski both called the nuggets out for being rather dry. This tendency for steak to dry out when overcooked or kept under warming lights is one of the big reasons why more fast food restaurants don't serve steak. It also explains why this iteration comes with BBQ sauce (which Milanowski said didn't help). While we might recommend you stick with the regular old chicken variety, Arby's nugget iteration didn't even make it into our top 8 (what's up, former Myspace fans) — and yes, we ranked fast food chicken nuggets from worst to best.