To Nugget or Not to Nugget
Like most people occasionally I get caught up in watching those insidious reels from TikTok that pop up in our Facebook feeds. While scrolling through I stumbled upon someone grinding chicken in a food processor and realized she was making chicken nuggets. Now chicken nuggets are not a food that we eat in our home very often. Occasionally a Chik-Pattie makes it onto my husband's plate or a Vegan Chik-Pattie. The only time I will serve nuggets is if the grandchildrena re coming over for a Shabbat lunch. I hate that they are so processed and who knows what the quality of the processed meat is. I was intrigued.
My curiosity led to watching a bunch of Youtube videos and to many googled recipes. Even the homemade recipes I found left a lot to be desired with some of the added ingredients. So much sugar. The technique is pretty simple so I started playing withhte seasonings and the cooking method. Of course I could fry the nuggets/ patties but if the goal was to make them a healthier option then I was going to bake them. Another wonderful thing about this recipe is that depending on your minhagim regarding seasonings these can be made for Passover with just a little tweaking.
Baked Chicken Nuggets/ Patties
Makes approximately 24 nuggets
This is a basic recipe, seasonings can be adjusted to your own taste preferences
Ingredients:
1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless chicken (the beauty is uf you like dark meat use boneless thighs, if you like white meat use boneless breast or you can use a mix. You could also sub boneless turkey)
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground blacj pepper
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup corn/ tapioca/ potato/ arrowroot starch of your choice
¼ cup water
11/2 cups flour
2 to 3 eggs
½ cup or slightly more mayonnaise
2 to 4 cups bread crumbs of your choice (I use Panko)
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cut the raw chicken into 1” cubes and place into the bowl of a food processor.
Start by pulsing and then grind to a smooth texture.
Add the spices and seasonings and reprocess to incorporate.
Make a slurry of the starch powder and the water and add it to the contents of the bowl of your food processor. Process to incorporate thoroughly.
Line a sheet pan (I used two) with parchment paper.
Wet your hands with cold water and scoop up a walnut sized ball of the chicken.
Form into a ¼ inch thick rectangle shape or any shape you like.
Place the nuggets / patties onto the prepared baking sheet.
Continue until all of the chicken mixture has been used.
Place the sheet pans of nuggets intothe freezer for 30 minutes.
While the nuggets are freezing, prepare the coating. In a small bowl or container place the flour. In a second bowl mix the eggs withthe mayonnaise until combined. In a third bowl place the bread crumbs.
When the 30 minutes is up remove one sheet pan of nuggets at a time.
Dredge the nuggets in teh flour, then the egg mixture and finally the bread crumbs.
Place coated nuggets on a clean parchment lined sheet pan and spray well with olive oil spray.
Bake at 350F for approximately 10 minutes then flip the nuggets and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the coating is golden brown.
While the first tray of nuggets is cooking, remove the second tray from the freezer and repeat teh coating steps.
The cooked nuggets can be refrozen so it is definitely worth it to make a double or triple batch if you have nugget eaters.
Serve warm with dipping sauce of choice.
To prepare these for Pesach (Passover) substitute matzo meal or nut flour for the regulater flour and use ground nuts, matzo crumbs or potato chip crumbs for the bread crumbs.
These can also be pan fried if you prefer.