Dipping sauces can be an essential part of eating McNuggets or the iconic fries, but some of the sauces are not as delicious as they are made to be. Do not get me wrong, I love McDonald's, I love what they make and do, but some of these sauces that they made are quite disappointing and some quite delicious. Without further ado, dip the arrow curser/pointer or whatever you want to call it on the "KEEP READING..." button.
DISCLAIMER: MY PALATE IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS.
Hot Mustard
Apparently, this got discontinued nationally in 2015 (probably for reasons that I am about to explain), but I still got my hands on it at my McDonald's. I sadly did not take a picture of it. However, I am still going to review this. This is not even hot, it is just plain sour. To my perspective, it is probably the worst sauce they have to offer. Imagine typical buffalo sauce, but with mustard. I never liked buffalo sauce to begin with because to me it tastes sour. Maybe McDonald's wanted to play it safe by not making it so spicy that people cannot eat it, I get that. However, I do not taste any spice whatsoever. I will say this, the mustard is powerful and fragrant with hints of turmeric, giving it that earthy taste. The gigantic downfall for me would be hot component. It disappoints me significantly.
Spicy Buffalo
McDonald's
I am used to spicy food, so I am not the right person to determine how spicy it truly is. I will say this though, there is a spice presence, granted I do taste that cayenne pepper spice. However, the vinegar can be overpowering and it is quite strong. It is stronger than the spices contained within the sauce. I personally like buffalo sauces that are fragrant and rich in aromas of different spices. This is not it. Honestly, if you like Frank's Red Hot Sauce, you might like the Spicy Buffalo sauce.
Creamy Ranch
McDonald's
I will give McDonald's this, the ranch is pretty creamy. In fact, that is the first thing that I noticed when dipping my McNugget's in the sauce. The next thing I noticed about the sauce was that it was quite bitter and a good amount of saltiness. That is probably due to the fact that it probably has buttermilk, I might be wrong about that, but I do get a hint of buttermilk. Not to mention, I taste hints of onion, maybe even with a little bit of garlic and parsley. There was also a tiny bit of acidity, felt like a kick, going doing my throat. It felt weird considering I have never had ranch that went down my throat and having that acidic feeling.
Tangy Barbecue Sauce
McDonald's
Barbecue is one of the most common sauces to dip anything with. It is good to dip your fries in, McNugget's, even a burger. However, there are things I have against this sauce. First and foremost, let us talk about the body and color. It has this orange brown color with a not too thick, but not too smooth consistency. It does not feel watery either. With barbecue sauce, people expect this slight smokey taste. Where on Earth is the smoke?! I was not able to find any hints of smoke in the sauce. All I tasted was this sour sauce that is so acidic, it should not even be called barbecue sauce. Not to mention, it is so sweet, which is not my personal preference for barbecue sauce. The problem is it has too much vinegar. The sour, acidic, and sweet taste makes it difficult to make out any smokiness. The label says "Tangy Barbecue," it is not even close to tangy. Sour and tangy are two different terms. I use tangy as a term for something that is strong, something with a nice kick, something that is surprising to my taste buds in a good light. This is just plain sour, a term I use to describe something that does not work at all and sometimes in a negative connotation. Fun fact, McDonald's enthusiasts claim that the barbecue sauce is altered. McDonald's claim they have been using the sauce since 1982. However, I do not remember the sauce being bad at all.
Honey Mustard
McDonald's
When dipping chicken into sauces, there are usually three sauces besides ketchup used for dipping: Barbecue, ranch, or honey mustard. If I had to choose a sauce at McDonald's to dip my McNugget's in, it would be honey mustard. It is so rich in the aroma's from the honey and the mustard, it is sweet, and tangy with a nice acidity that actually feels pleasant. Although it has the same consistency as the Tangy Barbecue sauce, the honey mustard brings something unique to the sauce, the mustard seeds. You can see the mustard seeds presented in the sauce. Not many fast food places do that and I think the whole seeds brings out extra flavor.
Honey
McDonald's
Honey is the most simple sauce you could get at McDonald's, but that does not mean it is a bad thing. The simplicity is what I love about the honey sauce. It has this wonderful earthy flavor with a strong sweet taste. It is not too thick and it is so smooth, it looks satisfying dripping. Dipping McNugget's is not ideal for me with this sauce, however fries works fantastic with the honey sauce. Using fries with honey sauce gives it that nice salty and sweet satisfaction that is worth a try. I do it all the time when eating with my fries.
Sweet 'N Sour
McDonald's
The Sweet 'N Sour sauce has the right amount of sweet and sour. It has the right amount of sweetness and acidity to it. Nothing seems overpowering, at least in my experience that is. It is a little thick in consistency, but that is just typical sweet and sour sauce. The color looks not too appealing to me. Usually sweet and sour sauce has a redish orange body, however in McDonald's case, it looks like a honey colored sauce. Oddly enough, if you dig deep hard enough, it tastes like it has a hint of peaches. Overall, this is my favorite dipping out of all the sauces. However, I do miss the Chipotle BBQ sauce as that is my all time favorite (I wish they brought it back) as well as the classic Szechuan Sauce.
If you liked my critique or hated it, feel free to reach out on my Instagram at @petertruongfood.
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