In the 1960s our Tyson’s Pride® Rock Cornish Game Hen hit supermarket shelves. It was one of the earliest branded poultry products. Since that time, we’ve worked to continue bringing innovative food products into homes and restaurants. Jimmy Dean Simple Scrambles® microwaveable eggs are a great example of how we keep trying to come up with new ideas every day. Pioneering Food Discovery.
In 1976, we introduced our first truly innovative convenience product: the Ozark Fry chicken patty. Restaurants and other foodservice businesses loved the versatility and as needs and demands changed, we did too. We took our chicken further, cutting it into strips, breaded nuggets, and filets, and created everything from popcorn chicken nuggets to boneless wings.
Chicken nuggets are a snack that both kids and adults love. They are delicious finger foods because the chicken is juicy and the outside is crispy. You may have liked these nuggets for years, but you might not know how they are made before they are frozen and sold at the store. Let’s look more closely at how Tyson, which makes a lot of chicken nuggets, makes this tasty snack.
Step 1: Selecting the Chicken
The first thing Tyson does when making nuggets is choose fresh, high-quality chicken. Different cuts are sometimes used, but boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, tenderloins, and rib meat are common ones. Using boneless cuts helps keep the nuggets shape consistent. Tyson says their chicken nuggets are made from 100% all-natural chicken that hasn’t had any hormones or steroids added. Tyson only buys chicken from suppliers that meet their high standards for animal welfare.
Step 2: Mixing the Batter
The crispy outside of chicken nuggets comes from a thick layer of batter. Tyson batters are made from a simple mix of things like flour, spices, and seasonings. While the exact mix is a secret recipe, it usually has things like wheat flour, salt, spices, and leavening agents like baking powder in it. This batter helps keep the juices inside the nuggets and makes them nice and crispy.
Step 3: Breading the Nuggets
Before being breaded, the nuggets are dipped in a batter that makes them crunchy. There is more flour, seasoning mixes, cornmeal, and other crumbs in the breading. This coating stays on top of the wet batter and makes a light, crunchy crust. Like the batter, Tyson owns the exact recipe for the breading, but it uses common breading ingredients.
Step 4: Flash Freezing
After battering and breading, the nuggets are flash frozen. This quick freezing helps seal in moisture and flavor. Tyson flash freezes them on a conveyor belt that moves through a freezer. The nuggets freeze fully solid within minutes under temperatures of -10°F or below.
Step 5: Packaging
The frozen nuggets are packaged into plastic bags or cardboard boxes. Packaging helps prevent freezer burn during storage and transport. For retail packages, the nuggets may be counted and grouped into recommended serving sizes like 4-pound family packs. Packaging is also labeled with cooking instructions, ingredients, and nutritional facts.
Step 6: Distribution
Finally, packaged nuggets are shipped out en masse to distributors and retailers. To maintain food safety, the cold chain is maintained by transporting and storing them in freezing temperatures until they reach store freezers. When you pick them up from the supermarket, you can trust they have been kept frozen the entire time.
Quality Control Checks
At several stages throughout the process at Tyson’s processing facilities, the nuggets undergo quality control checks. These include:
- Checking temperature and freeze times
- Examining nugget appearance and shape
- Verifying weights and counts
- Testing samples for texture and taste
- Assessing food safety and sanitation
These checks help ensure each batch meets safety regulations and quality standards.
Innovations in fresh beef and pork
In the late 1960s, Iowa Beef Packers, a small company in Denison, Iowa, revolutionized the industry. By shipping vacuum-packed sections of beef in boxes, the company (soon known as IBP) greatly reduced the cost of shipping. Since acquiring IBP in 2001, our goal has been to deliver the best and freshest meats to customers, and we’re doing that today with products like fresh, thick-cut, Wright® Brand bacon, Jimmy Dean® breakfast sausage and premium Ball Park® fresh 100% beef burgers.
Consumers are always looking for quality and value, whether they’re purchasing food to serve at home or away. But, with changing lifestyles the demand for convenience has grown in importance as well. By the end of the 1960’s, we moved from selling ice-pack poultry to offering families deep-chill Tyson Country Fresh Chicken. We now make 9 of the top 10 selling frozen prepared chicken products in the U.S., and offer more convenient protein options, like Tyson Any’tizers® Snacks and Tyson Grilled & Ready® Chicken.
The truth about Tyson – how chicken nuggets are ACTUALLY made.
FAQ
What are Tyson chicken nuggets made out of?
White meat chicken, water, wheat flour, contains 2% or less of: brown sugar, dried garlic, dried onion, dried yeast, extractives of paprika, food starch, natural flavor, oat fiber, salt, spices, wheat starch, white whole wheat flour, yellow corn flour. breading set in vegetable oil.
Are Tyson chicken nuggets processed?
Yes, Tyson chicken nuggets are considered processed food. “Processed” can mean a lot of different things, from simple tasks like washing and cutting to more complex ones like adding ingredients and shaping the food.
How do they make Tyson Dino nuggets?
The process begins with massive 50-pound blocks of chicken meat that ascend in an elevator before dropping into a machine that chops them into smaller chunks. A powerful grinder then compresses the meat to a perfect eighth of an inch, resembling spaghetti noodles at this stage!.
How are chicken nuggets actually made?
To make chicken nuggets, you grind up chicken meat, mix it with other things, shape it, coat it, and fry it.