How to make chicken nuggets?

[Shamde]

Something I've wanted to do, since I don't feel buying them is the healthiest way. I had a look on google but I'm never sure about following recipes from faceless websites...

 

[OhioTom76]

Do you want to re-create the heavily processed chicken nuggets you get at fast food joints or from the frozen food section if your grocery store? Or are you simply looking to make some whole meat chicken nuggets from scratch?

I make baked chicken fingers or nuggets at home when I am trying to lay off of the unhealthy fried and processed fast food. They're pretty easy too. There's no real need for specific amounts, you can just eyeball it based on how much chicken you have.

- Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees

- Cut up some chicken tenders into the amount of chicken nuggets you want. Or you can just pound the tenders flat with a mallet for chicken fingers.

- Get some pre-seasoned Italian Bread Crumbs and pour enough to dredge the chicken in, into a 10" dry frying pan. Turn the head on medium low. Add small amount of oil, like less than a tablespoon, and mix it through the breadcrumbs in the pan until it's evenly distributed - keep at it with a fork or a whisk until all the clumps go away. The breadcrumbs should eventually start to darken and become toasty. Before they get too dark, remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. The breadcrumbs will continue to darken a bit even after you take them off the heat, so be careful to not burn them.

- Mix some eggs with a little water or milk. Dump the chicken into the egg mixture, and taking a few pieces at a time, dredge them in the breadcrumbs being sure to coat them really well. Carefully place each piece on a wire rack on a baking sheet.

- Once all the pieces are breaded and on the baking sheet, spray them generously with some cooking spray, then place into the oven. Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken and how cold it was, but I would check on them in about 15 - 20 minutes to see if they are done. They should be golden brown and firm to the touch.

That's it, serve with some warmed bbq sauce or any other favorite dipping sauce.

Toasting the breadcrumbs in advance adds more flavor and prevents the breading from still being "raw" and dried out even when the chicken is cooked.

 

[megshoe]

Nice recipe OhioTom76! Thanks for sharing

And I agree -- if you're trying to recreate the McDonalds version of chicken nuggets, you're probably out of luck, as those are basically just compressed little patties of mechanically separated chicken parts. It's a little hard to locate the "nuggets" on an actual chicken. But if you're looking for bite sized pieces of homemade, breaded and baked (or fried) chicken, the recipe above looks great!

 

[skywatcher]

Do you want to re-create the heavily processed chicken nuggets you get at fast food joints or from the frozen food section if your grocery store? Or are you simply looking to make some whole meat chicken nuggets from scratch?

I make baked chicken fingers or nuggets at home when I am trying to lay off of the unhealthy fried and processed fast food. They're pretty easy too. There's no real need for specific amounts, you can just eyeball it based on how much chicken you have.

- Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees

- Cut up some chicken tenders into the amount of chicken nuggets you want. Or you can just pound the tenders flat with a mallet for chicken fingers.

- Get some pre-seasoned Italian Bread Crumbs and pour enough to dredge the chicken in, into a 10" dry frying pan. Turn the head on medium low. Add small amount of oil, like less than a tablespoon, and mix it through the breadcrumbs in the pan until it's evenly distributed - keep at it with a fork or a whisk until all the clumps go away. The breadcrumbs should eventually start to darken and become toasty. Before they get too dark, remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. The breadcrumbs will continue to darken a bit even after you take them off the heat, so be careful to not burn them.

- Mix some eggs with a little water or milk. Dump the chicken into the egg mixture, and taking a few pieces at a time, dredge them in the breadcrumbs being sure to coat them really well. Carefully place each piece on a wire rack on a baking sheet.

- Once all the pieces are breaded and on the baking sheet, spray them generously with some cooking spray, then place into the oven. Cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken and how cold it was, but I would check on them in about 15 - 20 minutes to see if they are done. They should be golden brown and firm to the touch.

That's it, serve with some warmed bbq sauce or any other favorite dipping sauce.

Toasting the breadcrumbs in advance adds more flavor and prevents the breading from still being "raw" and dried out even when the chicken is cooked.

Whoa, this is cool! I'd love to try this. Sometimes, when I want nuggets, I get compelled to buy from the supermarket or from the fast food. I'm going to try this out instead because this looks yum, haha.

 

[Ellyn]

I like to chop up some chicken breast, and bread it with egg and crushed cornflakes. Crushed cornflake go great with chicken breast. Then I put in a little oil in a pan and fry it all up.

I'd like to learn to make chicken meatloaf, though, maybe that'll work even better to mold into nuggets and bread-and-fry...and taste more like nuggets and tenders from restaurants. Maybe if baked, I wouldn't have to bread them.

 

[Enimrac]

Thanks a lot for posting this recipe! I've actually been looking for a while for a way to make real good chicken nuggets, without having to go to a fast food restaurant and settle for the chemical poison that they sell at those places. Thanks again!

 

[firelily99]

That is the way that chicken patties or tenders should be made and not the rubberized things that McDonald's serves up. I know people who swear by those awful things that they sell out of the grocery freezer case.

 

[Treeca86]

I love making homemade nuggets for me and my son. I buy chicken breasts for this purpose, otherwise, I buy thighs. I cut the breast into strips, then dice them into 1 inch pieces. Then I place them in a marinade of 2 eggs, 2 tbs garlic powder, 2 tbs paprika, 2 tbs onion powder, 2 tbs seasoned salt, 3 tbs minced garlic, and just enough water to cover the meat. Let marinade for a few hours, then place in seasoned flour of salt and pepper, garlic powder, and paprika, then fry them up.