“What part of the chicken is the nugget/croquette/popcorn?”

“What part of the chicken is the nugget/croquette/popcorn?” is the standard joke told about some chicken offerings at restaurants. “Chicken croquettes, eh? I say, waiter, what part of the chicken is the croquette?” is a joke cited in print from 1922.
 
McDonald’s introduced Chicken McNuggets in 1983, and “What part of the chicken is the McNugget?” became a popular joke in the 1980s. “What part of the chicken does chicken salad come from?” was cited in 1990, ““What part of the chicken has a ring?”” is from 2010 and “Hey K.F.C., what part of the chicken is popcorn?” is from 2011.
   
 
8 December 1922, Fitchburg (MA) Sentinel, pg. 13, col. 2:
Correct Answer.
Waggish Diner (with menu): “Chicken croquettes, eh? I say, waiter, what part of the chicken is the croquette?”
Waiter: “The part that’s left over from the day before, sir.”
—Boston Transcript.
   
26 August 1926, Baldur (Manitoba) Gazette, pg. 5, col. 6:
Waggish Diner (with menu):—Chicken croquettes, eh? I say, waiter, what part of the chicken is the croquette?
Waiter:—The part that’s left over from the day before, sir.
     
6 July 1989, Mobile (AL) Register, ‘Trying to order on fast food speaker phone” by William Thomas, pg. 27A, col. 2:
It may be all my fault for not understanding Fastfoodspeak. For example, I don’t know what part of the chicken the nugget is.
 
27 September 1990, Aberdeen (SD) American News, “The Family Circus” comic strip by Bill Keane, pg. 6, col. 2:
“What part of the chicken does chicken salad come from?”
 
New York (NY) Times
Editorial Observer; The McNugget of Truth in the Lawsuits Against Fast-Food Restaurants
By ADAM COHEN
Published: February 03, 2003
When McDonald’s first rolled out the Chicken McNugget in the 1980’s, comedians could always get a laugh by asking, with a leer, just what part of the chicken the McNugget was supposed to be. But thanks to a recent federal court ruling, the composition of the McNugget is no laughing matter.
   
Salon
FRIDAY, JUN 18, 2010 07:01 AM CDT
White Castle: A history of culinary violence
Why their burgers are called sliders and ... what the hell are Chicken Rings? I find out, and much more
BY FRANCIS LAM
(...)
Somewhere along the line, they invented Chicken Rings (“What part of the chicken has a ring?” one observant Yelper asked), and, striving ever forward, have begun flavoring them.
 
SodaHead
Hey K.F.C. What Part of the Chicken is Popcorn?
by The Elitist Libtard SodaJerk Posted September 28, 2011
 
Google Books
Setting Boundaries with Food
By Allison Bottke
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
2012
Pg. 143:
I’m familiar with a chicken leg, a chicken breast, and chicken wings, but can you tell me what part of the chicken the nugget comes from? Think about it.