I ate the new Arby’s Steak Nuggets so you don’t have to
The new Steak Nuggets from Arby's are exactly what they sound like. They're the red meat equivilant of chicken nuggets. They are also available on top of a mac and cheese bowl.
"Steak Nuggets" are a new menu item, but not a revolutionary concept. They're similar to burnt ends from a barbecue joint or unsauced steak tips.
But what they do have is an unwritten endorsement from society at large to pull up to a drive-thru window and just order a big tub of steak that you eat with your bare hands.
What it lacks in decorum, it makes up for in satiating a primal urge to tear into a pile of red meat like that one bear did to Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant."
Although in reality, I'm more like one of the contestants in the Fat Bear Week competition put on by Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. I'm just bulking up, preparing for a hard winter.
Since I've yet to successfully fish leaping salmon out of a river, it looks like I'll have to settle for a bucket o' meat.
Arby's Steak Nuggets | Review
The disembodied voice from the Arby's commercials that "We have the meats." Finally, the roast beef chain has cut out all the extraneous materials like bread, vegetables and sometimes cheese.
It's just you and some cooked meat chunks of questionable quality. You can get a five-piece. You can get a nine-piece. Heck, you can get the "Steak Nuggets Bowl" where they come served on a bed of mac & cheese and fried onion rings.
The point is that you're free to sit in your car in the Arby's parking lot and eat like a neanderthal. No one can stop you. No one can get you out of your zone, not even the scammer who just called you five different times trying to convince you that you missed a court date to be on a federal grand jury.
Note to self: Never answer phone calls from unknown numbers from the Arby's parking lot. It never ends well.
The Steak Nugget Bowl from Arby's(Nick O'Malley/MassLive)
What do they taste like?
Steak Nuggets- These are surprisingly tender and easily fall apart.
They're almost too tender. What sans sandwich witchcraft did Arby's pull on these?
My guess is that they're just slowly cooked forever, because it has a flavor and texture similar to what you find in pot roast. But they're also dry in a way that reminds me of beef jerky.
I was given a fork with these. But it was weirdly satisfying eating these with my hands.
The Steak Nuggets can be a bit dry. But that's where the smoked hickory barbecue sauce comes in. I hope you like liquid smoke flavor.
Steak Nugget Bowl- This is way better than I thought it would be. The crispy onions really bring out some much-needed crunch and extra savory flavor.
There's a solid contrast between the creamy mac and cheese bed and the toppings. The steak and noodles are fine. But I'm really impressed by the way the onions tied this whole thing together.
When you get a bite with all three components on it, you're in for something great.
So are they any good?
The nuggets are decent. It's nothing flashy, but it is a bucket of steak that you can quickly grab for a straight hit of protein that isn't fried like chicken nuggets are.
The real winner was the Steak Nugget Bowl. That should stay on the menu in some manner permanently.
The final word
I was a little surprised that my five-piece Steak Nuggets ran me $6.49 — especially when it's $3.49 for a six-piece McNuggets.
Then I remembered that what I got was a major step up in protein quality over the standard chicken goo in McNuggets.
The better comparison is the McCrispy strips, which are $5.99 for a three-piece.
The quietly excellent deal is the Steak Nugget Bowl at $9.99. For an extra $3.50, you get mac & cheese and onion rings.
Huh. It turns out I actually did want something beside "the meats" from Arby's.
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Want more "I Ate It" food coverage? You can follow Nick on Instagram (@NickAteIt) and TikTok (also @NickAteIt)
"I ate it so you don't have to" is a regular food column about offbeat eats, both good and bad. I picked the name years ago and now we're sort of stuck with it.
You can send any praise/food suggestions to nomalley@masslive.com . Please send all criticisms and questions about what qualifies something as a "nugget" to abrennan@masslive.com. You can check out the rest of the series here .
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