McDonald's chicken nuggets come in these 4 shapes and here's why

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McDonald's Chicken McNuggets have been on the fast-food chain's menu since the 1980s, but did you know they almost had a very different story? 

The idea for Chicken McNuggets came from failed experiments by McDonald's executive chef René Arend, according to the McDonald's website.

At the time, Arend was working on "onion nuggets," but the recipe was not quite working. 

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"In a passing conversation in 1979, Chairman Fred Turner suggested Arend ditch onions and start working with chicken instead. Soon after, the Chicken McNugget was born," the McDonald's website says.

McNuggets were tested in a few markets and were an immediate hit. In 1983, they were added to menus in the United States. 

Chicken McNuggets made their way to McDonald's menus in the United States in 1983. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

At the time of their release, McNuggets were available in six-piece, nine-piece and 20-piece quantities. 

Today, McNuggets are available in four-piece, six-piece, 10-piece, 20-piece and 40-piece boxes, McDonald's said.

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McNuggets made their international debut the following year, according to the McDonald's website — and were first sold at McDonald's locations in Canada, Japan, France and Germany. 

McNuggets are now sold in boxes of four, six, 10, 20 and 40 pieces.  (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A YouTube video posted in 2014 by McDonald's Canada offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of McNuggets. 

The process begins with whole chickens — and the breasts are separated and put into a container. 

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These breasts are then ground and seasoned; then a small amount of chicken skin is added as a binder, McDonald's Canada said. 

The ground chicken mixture is then cut into four shapes – dubbed the "Bow Tie" (or "Bone"), "Ball," "Bell" and "Boot." 

 These four shapes are then breaded, battered, par-fried and frozen, the company said. 

McNuggets come in four shapes, seen here (from left): "Bow Tie" (or "Bone"), "Boot," "Ball" and "Bell."  (Lucia Buricelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The nuggets are shipped to McDonald's locations, where they are fried again to complete the cooking process.

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"These shapes were created to ensure even cooking and to make the nuggets fun and easy to eat," according to a description on a 2023 YouTube video from McDonald's about the shape of the McNuggets.

The original dipping sauces for the McNuggets were "Honey, Sweet and Sour, Hot Mustard and Barbecue," according to the McDonald's website. 

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In the 41 years since McNuggets were added to menus, there have now been more than 25 different McNuggets sauces in the United States, the website added. 

In 2003, a new McNuggets recipe, consisting only of white meat chicken, was released, McDonald's said. 

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McDonald's did not provide any additional information regarding an inquiry about its nuggets.