Break out the Weber and Impinge the Chickens!
I’m a big fan of the Wendy’s Spicy Chicken sandwich. I also enjoys me some McDonald’s chicken nuggets. But seriously, only multi-national fast food chains can take something as healthy as fresh chicken breast and make it as bad for you as a greasy pepperoni pizza.
According to the June 2006 Fast Company magazine, most of the chicken found in fast food restaurants is defrosted, precooked chicken that has been mechanically branded at a factory to look like it’s hot off the grill. This processed chicken, which starts out as naturally low-fat and low-sodium, gets submerged in a giant “tumble marinator” and saturated with salt, oil, sugar, chemicals and fat.
After marinating in the “death sauce”, the breasts are hand placed on a conveyor which slowly carries them through a convection oven and then finally takes them into the “impinging oven” which brands the marks onto the surface.
Fast Company claims:
- Burger King’s Tendergrill fillet contains added chicken fat and 30 other items
- McDonald’s Grilled Chicken fillet has up to 20% solution by weight
- Panera Bread’s Chicken Salad Sandwich includes beef extract
- Subway’s Grilled Chicken Breast and Baby Spinach Salad includes mechanically impinged chicken from a factory
The only chain that actually grills chicken in the restaurant is Chick-fil-A “…whose Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich is the rare fast-food offering that approaches the nutritional benefits of home-grilled chicken breasts.”
Feel free to research the nutritional values at any of the companies’ Web sites:
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Yet another reason I don’t eat fast food.