McDonald’s Is Debuting a New Spicy Chicken McNugget

McDonald's is kicking off the new year with the launch of a brand new nugget. The limited-time Peppercorn Garlic Spicy Chicken McNuggets are debuting alongside two new sauces—the Garlic Soy Sauce Mayo and the Smoked Cheese—in Japan. The latest nugget experiment comes after Americans recently showed great enthusiasm for a nugget that packs a spicy punch.

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The Peppercorn Garlic nuggets are made with a mixture of coarse-ground black pepper, garlic, white pepper, and chili peppers. No word yet on where these clock in on the Scoville Scale, but the fact that the nuggets are being served with two kinds of dairy-based sauce tells us they're pretty hot.

The sauces themselves are also anything but bland. Both temper and enhance the heat of the nuggets—the mayo and the smoked cheese sauces are seasoned with a mixture of black pepper and onion powder—offering a sort of "hair of the dog" treatment, but for spices.

The Peppercorn Garlic Spicy McNugget isn't McDonald's first spicy chicken nugget. The chain debuted a limited-time Spicy Chicken McNugget in the U.S. in 2020. The launch was successful, with the nuggets selling out nationwide within a month.

Clearly, there's plenty of demand for spicy nuggets among U.S. customers. Could McDonald's be planning an expanded launch of the Peppercorn Garlic Spicy McNuggets outside of Japan? The chain does have a history of testing new menu items in international markets. The rollout of the new McPlant burger, for example, began in the U.K., before reaching the American market nearly three months later.

Only time will tell whether or not Americans will get a chance to try the new Peppercorn Garlic spicy nuggets. But if you've got a spicy tooth and want to take action now, you could sign this Change.org petition to bring Spicy Chicken McNuggets back to the McDonald's menu permanently.

For more, check out 10 Major Changes McDonald's Made in 2021.