Things I (don't) Eat: Nugs

My man-friend loves chicken nuggets. But he never knew how they were made - I think he assumed you could only get them in the frozen food aisle or at a fast food place. I think this is the common conception of chicken nuggets.

Unhealthy, weird tasting, children's food option, fast food snack.

Then he met me. And I make a MEAN nug. I can't eat them anymore but when I do make them for other people, they lose their mo-fo minds.

And I agree. They are tasty. So tasty I might steal a few.

This recipe has been handed down to me by family.

What You Need

• 2lbs Chicken breast: I suggest not using a large chains chicken breasts. They tend to be bathed in salt and other things because they are bought by weight from manufactures. I got mine from Whole Foods or you could try Trader Joe's. Once you have non-salt injected chicken, you will wonder why you ever ate it.
• Cornflake Crumbs: You can buy a box of cornflakes and smash them, but, you can also just by Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs.
• Bisquick: Normal stuff - don't get fancy with it, the normal Bisquick Original is best.
• Peanut Oil: Secret weapon. For those with a peanut allergy, if you know you are allergic to the protein in peanuts, a highly refined peanut oil doesn't have it, making it peanut allergy safe. Few of us know what compound in a food we are allergic too, so, be careful when testing. You can use canola oil, but the peanut oil is really the best for flavor.
• 3 Eggs: Yum. Eggs!
• Milk: Go for whole milk. Or if you drink milk, some type of milk with fat in it.
• Poultry seasoning: It's good stuff - I use McCormick's

What You Do

The day before you are going to make the nugs, you will get out your chicken and chop it into bite-sized pieces. I suggest keeping them the same size and smaller than the nugs you might get at the store. It helps for even cooking. Get out your eggs, milk and poultry seasoning - and a bowl, a big bowl. 

Once you have chopped up your chicken, put it into the bowl and cover it with milk. Add the eggs and dump in a good amount of the poultry seasoning. Like so much with me - I don't know too much about amounts, it's more how it looks. 

The marinade should be a little yellowish - I used three eggs and whatever amount is left over in my milk container. You can see the seasoning floating around. Good! Now put that in the fridge and keep it there for a minimum of four hours - or overnight. 

Now that's it's the next day, get out your dry stuff - the cornflake crumbs and Bisquick and, well, the peanut oil and a pan and stuff. In another bowl, mix half and half the cornflake crumbs and Bisquick. This will be your breading.  

You can drain off some of the marinade, but it will be the stuff that helps the breading stick. Don't be rinsing it off or something. Bread however you would like. Shake-n-Bake style in a bag, with your hands in the bowl. I will assure you, you will get messy.

Now, you want to set up your frying station. Notice the zen like set up - raw nugs on the right, my pan with a layer of peanut oil and a plate with two layers of paper towels for then the nugs are done cooking. 

I tend to just throw the nugs in with my hands, cook for about 2 minutes, then flip with a fork and then cook for about 2 minutes and then use a slotted spatula type thing to move the nugs from the pan to the towel.

Timing - well - you want them to be cooked and golden brown. Here is how my first batch looked after I turned them. 

Very, very key! When you are done a batch, you need to remove your pan from the fire and dump any excess oil (shouldn't really b e a lot) and wipe it down with a damp paper towel. If not, you will start to burn the oil and chicken breading bits and your kitchen will be full of smoke. Also, if you have a smoke dectector above your stove, it will go off. So, clean your pan between fry sessions. 

Here is my first yummy batch! Sprinkle with a little salt and let them rest. I can fit about two pan fulls of nugs on one plate - after that, I transfer them to the thing I will serve them in and re-layer my plate with paper towels to suck up any extra oil. 

Continue.. .until all your nugs are cooked. It's really cool if you have help - plenty of room for help - but I normally make these as a treat for someone, so, I don't get help. I do get first crack at warm nugs, though. 

Once you eat these nugs, you will never, ever, EVER go back to those frozen, processed things from the food store or a fast food place.

You can serve them with Chinese Duck Sauce (my family's favorite) or BBQ or honey mustard. My lover eats them plain - and they are good plain. Maybe with some rice? I have noticed, no one eats side dishes when these are around. They make a good dinner and awesome appetizer. 

You got kids? Feed them this. You're an adult, I don't care how tired you are, you created life - fuel it correctly!