It’s been a couple of weeks since McDonald’s brought back their iconic chicken strips, and the hype hasn’t died down. And honestly? I get it. Over here at Delish, we love the strips for their crisp, flavorful coating and that just-right level of tenderness. But there’s still one thing about them that totally boggles me: the shapes.
Most of the time, they look like your typical chicken tender—no big surprises. But every now and then, one comes out of the fryer looking… strange. Like, “pause mid-bite and squint” strange.
Don’t believe me? One Reddit user recently posted a now-viral photo of a tender that sparked a flurry of reactions online. The chicken strip in question had a very unique shape. Some viewers said it looked like a flexing bicep. Others said it resembled, well… something a little more phallic. (Use your imagination.)
Naturally, the comments were unhinged in the best way. “You should tip them. They knew you like dark meat, apparently,” one person joked. Another chimed in, “Deep-Fried Surprise by Adam&Eve.com in partnership with McDonald’s.”
And because the internet will always internet, someone suggested putting the tender on eBay: “Please auction this off and see how much it sells for lol.” Considering people have paid wild amounts for viral food items in the past (hello, Trader Joe’s totes), we honestly wouldn’t be surprised.
At the end of the day, sure, that chicken strip was definitely… um, odd-looking. But I bet it was still delivering on flavor. And if we’re being honest, taste is the only thing that really matters. So, for me? I’d take a phallic-shaped tender that tastes amazing over a regular-shaped one that doesn’t, any day.
