It wasn’t until the other day that we learned about Dairy Queen’s unique “rotisserie chicken bites” after a tipster pointed out an eye-catching television commercial for them.
The bites flew onto DQ menus at most locations in January—and miraculously without breading or a swim through the deep fryers. (We wouldn’t be interested if these were your everyday fast-food nuggets.)
Instead, these meaty pieces of boneless, skinless, lightly brined chicken are supposedly extracted from birds cooked on spits. But the alleged rotisserie ovens exist in food facilities run by US Foods, according to a DQ manager in San Diego.
“I can eat a lot of these and still be able to work all day because they’re not fried,” the employee effused while heating my pre-cooked bites in a small convection oven. I ordered a to-go box of six minus the chips and drink, and she ended up giving me nine pieces because “we want everyone to love them,” she added.
The bites include a choice of dipping sauces: Buffalo, smokey barbecue or ranch.
We did a price check at DQs in several cities across the U.S., and found the bites range from $3.99 to $5.99 for six pieces by themselves, and from $6.29 to $7.99 with a soft drink and chips (or Texas toast in some cases).
Would we buy them again? You bet. Not only did the bites sport a pleasant taste and non-processed texture, but they permeated the car on the ride home with an intoxicating scent of classic roasted chicken.
Good to know there’s sporting and permeating going on at the DQ, and during transportation therefrom! We need healthier chicken bites, for sure.
I will definitely try them: Not fried, not breaded – just chicken. Sounds good.