A Donut & Chicken Nugget Hybrid Called The "Donug" Exists — And It Sounds Amazing

In foods shaped like other foods news, someone has created a “donug," or donut and chicken nugget hybrid, just as the name would suggest. Cronut who? Pizookie? I don’t know her.

For those of you gagging at the idea of a chicken-flavored donut or, perhaps, have your interest piqued by a donut-encrusted chicken nugget, it’s not really either of those things. The donug is simply a chicken nugget in the form of a donut. It has a ring-like shape, a hole in the middle, and, if you’re feeling extra freaky, a savory dipping sauce of your choosing. It is the hangover food we didn’t know we needed. The ultimate midday snack we crave. It is a donug and you will treat it with the love and respect it so deserves.

This frankensteined monster/blessing was created by Crag Carrick. According to the Evening Standard, Carrick recently appeared on Shark Tank Australia to share his savory concoction with the judges. After his and his donug made their TV debut, Carrick secured an investment of $100,000 AUD (about $70,000 US) to take the donug all over the world.

“I’m not changing the world with this product,” Carrick said on Shark Tank. “I’m giving something that’s fun, it’s easy to understand, people get it straight away.” Listen Crag, you may not be changing the entire world ... but you’ve certainly changed mine.

Let’s get into the savory details of the donug, lest you think it’s just a chicken nugget with a hole scooped out. According to the donug Instagram page, the outside of the donug is coated in a crunchy, spicy crust that includes a top-secret combination of flour and spices, getting its crunch from panko and cornflakes. The inside of the donug is a “delicious chicken mix,” according to Instagram. The Mirror quotes Carrick saying the donug is “98 percent chicken.” However, he doesn’t clarify whether that means the entire creation is 98 percent chicken, two percent crust...or the meat mix is 98 percent chicken two percent...something else? Hopefully, that something else is spices. Regardless, I'm a glutton for chicken-flavored punishment so I’m already in.

The donug also comes with a variety of savory dipping sauces: Japanese curry sauce, cheesy dijon bechamel, or hot chilli and black salt. If we’re being entirely honest with each other and ourselves, the chicken nugget, in any and all shapes and sizes, is really just a vessel for dipping sauces. Not to get too scientific but the hole in the middle of the donug, which also gets coated in the crunchy topping, creates the perfect amount of surface area for a nice little sauce pocket.

The donug has already gotten a decent amount of buzz. Seth Meyers even name dropped the chicken nugget-donut hybrid during his monologue on Tuesday’s episode of Late Night. Some are predicting (hoping? praying?) the donug is coming for cronut’s food hybrid thone. The donug is certainly not the first food to make a name for itself by combining two other beloved foods.

We’ve got pizza cones: slices of pizza rolled up into the shape of a waffle cone. There’s the cotton candy burrito, which substitutes the tortilla for cotton candy and the savory insides for a sweet ice cream filling. This isn’t even the first savory donut that’s been birthed into the food world. A spaghetti donut made the rounds in 2017.

Unfortunately, you’ll only be able to get your hands on the donug if you’re located in Australia. Fingers crossed the donug will soon travel on a sea of ranch so we can enjoy it in the United States.