My homemade spicy chicken nuggets happen to be the quickest & tastiest chicken snack that you can ever make at home without any fuss whatsoever! Crispy chicken nuggets at its best!
Why should you make chicken nuggets at home?
If you are wondering whether taking the effort of making chicken nuggets at home is worth it when you can easily get budget-friendly packet of frozen chicken nuggets in any supermarket that can be made in a jiffy, then I only have one counter to win this argument in favor of homemade chicken nuggets!
That is anything homemade is way tastier as well as healthier than any readymade stuff; and it is very true in case of these amazingly hot & crispy homemade chicken nuggets too!
I’m not even asking you to consider that mind-numbing feeling of joy that you will feel after whipping up this lip-smacking snack from scratch at home and being praised by everyone around (even though that is my own driving force)!
Making these chicken nuggets at home will definitely take more time than quickly frying frozen nuggets; but if you trust me a little then you must be assured that your signature nuggets will be way more loved by you as well as everyone else who taste it! Hence, don’t think twice to give it a go!
Useful tips to make best chicken nuggets every time
I will also let you know few other benefits of making chicken nuggets at home. But before that, let’s discuss some important points.
The most important thing to do while making chicken nuggets is to decide which portion of chicken to use.
Chicken breast is a popular choice as it cooks fast as well as is very lean, hence good for weight watchers. But I, being a sucker for taste, inclined to use chicken thigh meat which results in juicier nuggets.
Now the only difficulty I faced while using chicken thigh is the uneven shape & surface of thigh portion which makes it tricky to cut in perfect shape of nuggets.
Chicken breast is a very smooth and even portion and hence easy to cut into nugget-shaped pieces. So, you can make a choice depending on what you prefer – thigh meat would make slightly tastier nuggets as compared to breast meat whereas chicken breast is much easier & quicker to handle. Take your pick!
Now, talking about some more benefits of making chicken nuggets at home, I must make you aware that making anything at home will present you with uncountable opportunities of creation. You can make chicken nuggets of variety of flavors and the options are really countless.
I made a spicy version of chicken nuggets this time by adding chili powder which not only add heat but enhances the flavor of the chicken too. You can use any seasoning of your choice to marinate the chicken.
This 30-minute marination will infuse the chicken meat with great flavors and also tenderize it so that you taste succulent cubes of meat when you take a bite on the crispy outer coating of your chicken nuggets.
I used breadcrumbs to bread my chicken nuggets, but many frozen nuggets are only coated with flour giving it a smoother outer coating. Since I like crispy coating, I chose breadcrumbs to use and I would urge you to do the same as the combination of crispy coating with juicy meat is simply a match made in heaven!
When you take the effort of making anything fresh at home, you are actually doing a favor to your body by not gulping in loads of preservatives. Fresh food has its own flavor & taste which can never be beaten in my opinion by anything packed & frozen; plus, it is much healthier.
You can make these chicken nuggets even more skinny if you bake them instead of deep frying them. Just follow all the steps given below upto breading the chicken nuggets.
Then arrange them in single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them in preheated oven at 180 C / 360 F for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn the pieces over. Bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden and the chicken is cooked through.
Your chicken nuggets will be as crispy as the fried version and equally juicy & succulent inside if you haven’t skipped the marination. You won’t lose any flavors of chicken nuggets if you bake them; so, go ahead and crack up some delicious chicken nuggets at your own cozy kitchen and enjoy!
If you own an air fryer, then you can try out these chicken popcorn In An Air Fryer from Truffle Nation! They are not only delicious, but also much healthier than deep fried chicken popcorn as an air fryer cooks food by circulating hot air around it.
More delicious chicken snacks from Flavor Quotient
- Boneless & skinless chicken – 500 gms, (You can use chicken breast or thigh)
- Garlic powder – 1 tsp
- Smoked paprika – 1 tsp
- Red Chili powder – ½ tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- All-purpose flour – 1 cup
- Panko Breadcrumbs – 2 cups
- Eggs – 2 or 3
- Canola oil for deep frying
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 1-inch long. Take them in a bowl.
- Add garlic powder, paprika, chili powder and salt. Give a good mix and set aside for 30 minutes.
- After about 30 minutes, it’s time to bread the chicken nuggets. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Spread out the flour and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes.
- Now starts the standard breading procedure. First, coat the chicken pieces with flour on all sides. Then shake off excess flour from each chicken cube and dip them into beaten eggs.
- Then take out each piece and let the excess liquid drip off. Finally, coat each chicken cube thoroughly on all sides with breadcrumbs by pressing it firmly on the bed of breadcrumbs.
- Once all the chicken nuggets are breaded, you can pop them into freezer for 15 minutes to let the coating firm up.
- When you are ready to fry, heat enough canola oil in a deep-frying skillet. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and tip in the breaded chicken pieces into hot oil.
- Fry the chicken nuggets on medium for 10 to 15 minutes or until the outer coating turns golden brown. If you are using chicken breast, your chicken nuggets will cook quickly, in about 6-8 minutes; if using chicken thigh, it would take about 15 minutes on medium to cook completely; hence adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Take out the hot & crispy chicken nuggets and place on a plate lined with absorbent tissue paper. Serve hot with ketchup or ranch dip. Enjoy!
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