I had them air fried before, and if you really inspect them and think about it you can tell they aren’t chicken (from the texture but the taste is identical IMO). But I had them fried in a deep fryer this weekend and they were indistinguishable from real chicken nuggets. I am flexitarian so it’s not like I haven’t eaten a chicken nugget in years, they are legit. Definitely recommend trying them if you are trying to cut your meat consumption or even if you are just curious.
They make animal shaped and spicy versions too
I haven’t tried Impossible, but I always have Quorn nuggets in my freezer. If I really think about it, I can tell they’re not chicken since they’re only marginally trying to be. But it’s a nugget, I’m not expecting a sous vide delicacy. Quorn definitely fills any nugget craving I might have.
I’ll check out Impossible, though, out of curiosity.
Do they make vegan ones now or do they all still have eggs?
It seems they have both vegan and vegetarian. But my internet searching is kind of suggesting that the vegan variety are only available in the UK, which would explain why I’ve never seen them before.
Ah, that’s good to know. It seems their vegan products have “vegan” printed on the front label, so I’ll have to keep an eye out in case they decide to carry them in the US.
Man, I used to love Quorn nuggets. Why did you get me thinking about Quorn nuggets again?
Quorn
Because they’re delicious and you need to eat them.
I’m interested in trying these. Can anyone recommend the best brand?
To add. Impossible is the brand they are talking about in this post. I agree they’re probably the best brand for basically anything they sell. They have burgers (patty and block form), chicken nuggets and patties in both normal and spicy, and breakfast sausage in log or patty form(also spicy/normal). (They also have some microwave meals but those are exactly what you’d expect from microwave meals… so probably don’t.)
Simulate is another brand that sells Simulate Nuggs (also have a spicy version). If for some reason you can’t find impossible but can find these, they’re a very close 2nd.
Beyond is another brand known to make decent stuff. Theirs is fine, definitely edible, but personally find theirs to be worse than the other two brands listed.
Gardein makes a ton of frozen meat substitutes. They’re all overall fine. Not AMAZING, but easy to use in everyday cooking for stuff like stir fries, tacos, etc. maybe slightly under beyond, but I tend to prefer them outside of what I buy Impossible brand stuff for.
impossible is a brand. they also do really good imitation burgers
Actually just bought a bunch of different impossible meats. The chicken nuggets are GREAT. Absolutely buying more of those, I don’t care if they’re a buck more for a bit less. They’re so good.
The steak tips, wife couldn’t eat them. She doesn’t like fatty meat and they REALLY had the consistency of fatty steak tips. I’d eat them, but meh.
Had an impossible burger the other day at a restaurant and it was REALLY good as well. I had one waaaaaaaaaaay back when they started at one of the fast food places and it was just like chalky. This was REALLY good. Probably going to have that when I want a burger and they have that as an option.
I am NOT a vegan or vegetarian or any of that. I just think if I can do this little thing to get away from meat, maybe it’ll help. The fact it tastes quite good is a win.
Personally I feel that plant based food is hurting itself by trying to imitate meat.
Instead of trying to make minced meat out of vegetable, just Calle DIY minced vigetables. Or chickpea nuggets. Or oatjuice. This way you don’t have to compare them to meat, milk or any other product. Just value it for what it is
The best plant based chicken nuggets I had, I can’t remember the brand name (id recognize the package tho). But even then, they had a texture more akin to a stack of paper than chicken. Still, I’d get 'em again. The texture wasn’t off-putting, just a little weird.
The texture was from it actually being some kind of leaf just wrapped around itself tightly, though. It wasn’t, like, lab made weirdness. Just creatively made and flavored salad.
I have a pack of these in my freezer and I was thinking of air-frying them, chopping them up, and adding them to a mu shu gai pan or rice stir fry. Think that would work well?
Not OP, but IME the breading tends to fall off when they’re chopped and moved around a bunch, but if you mix sliced air fried ones in at the very end that’d probably turn out pretty well.
Should work fine. They also sell patties, I’ve used those to cut to strips for salads or ramen before and it works well.
Personally I like Gardein’s chicken strips that come with teriyaki sauce for stir fry because the sauce is good and those aren’t breaded.
I am flexitarian so it’s not like I haven’t eaten a chicken nugget in year…
What?
Not eating meat/animal products the majority of the time
I would like to go full on vegan but I have sensory issues with food so it’s a long work in progress while I find enough vegan options I like
Removed by mod
This adds nothing to the discussion, this is also a reminder to be nice on our instance
Much like every other time people complain about “labels”, it’s a quick way to describe things without going into detail.
The issue with “labels” is when, every time you use a label, you end up having to explain what it means anyway. “Flexitarian” might be a good label amongst groups of people who commonly discuss vegetarian/vegan/other diets and understand the vocabulary, but it’s confusing to a broader audience. Much like any jargon.
If it’s a broadly understood label, it makes sense. If it’s a relatively niche one, it’s counterproductive.
Broad use doesn’t just happen, though. It comes over time. Broadly used labels often start as niche ones.
And a simple google search would likely explain it, it even has its own wikipedia page.
True, and that’s an excellent point. It’s all about adoption.
A label for an arbitrary ratio of eating plant to meat products doesn’t convey anything. It does add the need for people to ask what the label means though, which is the opposite of a quick way to describe, especially since the ratio had nothing to do with the topic at hand. Just mentioning that you are comparing them to regular nuggets was enough.
Labels like vegan, vegetarian, and the one where you only eat seafood have meaning. A vegan who hasn’t eaten a nugget for years provides some context on their take about taste and texture not being a recent comparison.
I’m not sure why everyone feels the need to ask when we are on the internet… where Google exists…
I don’t know every word either but I look it up instead of complaining about it existing
Eh, context clues don’t make it too hard to guess. Google if you wanna make sure you’re not looking stupid. And then tada. No need to upset over.
I’m still confused what that has to do with eating a chicken nugget in a year.
They’re saying they aren’t vegetarian, so know what real chicken nuggets taste like. OP worried that people might assume they are vegetarian, and therefore might not have a good idea of what chicken nuggets taste like. That sentence is meant to avoid people assuming that.
That’s my best guess anyway.
The implication is that a vegetarian may have little or no basis for comparison, but OP can speak with some authority.
They could’ve said they’ve eaten a nugget. But instead they implied that being a flexitarian equates to having eaten said nuggets or that it’s so common that anyone who eats meat at all would have eaten a nugget.
It’s a weird implication.
shrugs
I mean… yeah most people who eat meat have definitely had a chicken nugget in America at least. Assuming they’re from the US.
If you eat fast food often, I guess? Maybe I’m being a food snob.
I mean idk I haven’t eaten meat in ages but yeah they’re cheap and easy, and kids love them.
That is a really weird thing to take umbrage with.
No umbrage. Was just confused. Zero umbrage though. Umbrage.
Flexitarian is basically the Michael Pollan diet. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Basically, you can still eat meat, you just have to feel bad about it.
Costco in my area (Portland) occasionally has these, and I always grab 3-4 bags when they’re available. They’re as near as makes no difference to a “real” chicken nugget to me, and that’s saying a-fucking-lot from a meat lover! These get 10/10 for me, onward goes vegan supersession!
Says that plant-based food is a scam but do with it what you will.
Is there ever a point made beyond “it has chemicals!!!”? I watched like 5 minutes of it. his editing style is atrocious and overdramatic to the extreme
🤷♂️
Yeah! Those nuggets are my go to quick protein snack. And cholesterol free, to boot.
BRB, gonna make some nuggets now…
How does the taste/feel compare to TVP (textured vegetable protein)? TVP has a sponginess that is slightly unpleasant to me, but I’ve seen some promising advancements in plant-based meat replacements that gives them a texture closer to animal meat.
They are definitely a flakey texture inside, I would compare them to Wendy’s nuggets. I am autistic so texture is a big thing for me, and it doesn’t bother me. I am not even a huge nugget fan because a lot of them do have that spongey texture that grosses me out
I would recommend trying them deep fried for the best texture
Spongey nuggets are officially the worst. Why do they bounce back so hard?
when I tried the impossible whopper I got a regular one too and couldn’t tell the difference. it really is legit.
Impossible burgers are the flip side… they don’t taste like beef, but man, the texture is spot on and good enough to fool my tongue.
Beyond has a weird, kind of nutty, aftertaste I don’t care for, not so with Impossible.
I can’t really taste the difference between beef and impossible burger IF the burger is a cm or so thick. If you tried to make a restaurant burger (2-3cm thick, rare/med rare) I think the difference would be pretty noticeable. It’s good in ground beef recipes, too (like pasta sauce or stuffed squash). I’m so happy this alternative is available. Big fan! It’s not that much more than beef I think? I dunno it all seems pretty cheap compared to fish/coffee/beer/wine.
The only real drawback is the sodium content:
One persons drawback is another persons “salt of life” haha. Yea they aren’t healthy, that’s for sure. Tasty though!
Idk I had an Impossible Whopper at BK when they first started doing them, and I couldn’t yell the difference.
I would love to eat meat replacements on a more regular basis, but impossible and beyond burgers are more expensive than actual meat where I live. So I just don’t buy them. If the technology /economies of scale actually manage to make them cheaper than meat, I’d replace 80% of my meat consumption.
In Canada prices have been dropping drastically recently. Lately there are sales for the beyond meat ground beef for ~6.50 CAD. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until its comparable everywhere.
I grabbed some the last time I saw them in the store. Still waiting for them to come back.
