Homemade Chicken Nuggets

One of the recipes we watched a video on in the Child Nutrition and Cooking class is for homemade chicken nuggets.  My family makes popcorn chicken and it’s almost the same but I think that nuggets are great for kids.  This recipe is easy and much healthier than the store bought frozen ones. Who really knows what is in the processed ones in the freezer aisle? Some of them are suspicious!  I like knowing what we’re eating!  The other nice thing about this recipe is that it can be made gluten free if you can’t have gluten.

I know you’re thinking “But Poe, it’s so easy to pull them out of the freezer! And what do you know, you’re a SAHM and only have one kid.  You have a ton of time on your hands to make your own nuggets!”  I promise that these are easy and while they do take a little time, you can make a big batch and freeze them.  I like to reheat them in the toaster oven on a piece of stoneware as they crisp and crunchy that way.  You can nuke them in the microwave but they sometimes come out soggy (but still delicious!)

You’ll need:

~ Boneless, skinless chicken.  I use breasts but you can use thigh, it’s up to you.

~ Flour (gluten free flour if needed)

~ Eggs

~Planko bread crumbs.  You can use regular bread crumbs but they won’t turn out as well.  Make sure to use gluten free ones if needed.

~Oil, whatever kind you prefer

~A cute helper (optional)

Steps:

1. Cut your chicken into pieces.  You can do whatever size/shape you want and they don’t have to match.  Cut into the sizes that work best for your kids.

2. Place your ingredients in separate bowls.  In the first, put about one cup of flour. In the second, two eggs.  In the third, about 1 cup of planko bread crumbs.  Keep them in that order.

3.  Cover a piece of chicken with flour.

4. Take the flour covered piece of chicken and cover it in egg.

5.  Take the flour and egg covered chicken and cover it in bread crumbs.

6. Repeat until all the chicken pieces are covered in all three.  Depending on the amount of chicken you have, you might have to refill the bowls.  I let them hang out on a plate while I finish up.

Your fingers will get messy during this process.  I just deal but you can wear gloves if you want.

7.  In a pan, pour enough oil to cover the bottom.  Place over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, place the chicken in a single layer to cook.  You’re not deep frying, so just use enough oil for it to cook.  If it starts to look dry you can add some more.  When the first side is brown, flip it over.  If you want to be totally sure your chicken is completely cooked, use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temp.

8.  When the chicken has finished coking, place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil on your nuggets.  Add more raw nuggets to your pan and keep cooking until all of them are done.

9. Enjoy! Refrigerate/freeze leftovers and eat until gone.

 

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