Recently, the fast food community has come under scrutiny again this time for its lack of decomposing cheeseburgers. As that discussion started, CP Kimball, Editor, Cook's Illustrated, posted on Twitter a picture of extruding "Chicken Nuggets." The picture is seen here and looks more like pepto pink ice cream. We all know eating fast food isn't healthy but rarely are we confronted with the visual evidence. I don't expect anyone not to eat in the car on the run. I know sometimes, like many, I have no choice.
The process is taking many of the lesser edible parts of the chicken, pureeing it in to a pulp, then its treated with ammonia and finally reflavored to be like chicken. When we bite in to a nugget, it "appears" to be real! I know chicken strips may sometimes come across as a healthier alternative but seeing this picture I'm not about to bet the farm.
On my last vacation in August, I traveled with friends and their kids. Six little ones ranging in age from 1-6! No, I am not insane. Most nights I was the one cooking and the kids ate before us each night. It's not easy getting kids to eat and these lovable rug-rats were from the US, Ireland and France! One night we did popcorn chicken and French Fries. I'm no dummy in how I bribe the kids with food. Instead of loading up the car, I made this recipe and there were a lot of clean plates.
Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs (see note)
1 lb chicken chopped in to bite size chunks
Salt and Pepper
Cooking oil
Equipment
Bowls
Sauté Pan
1 Big Ziploc Bag
Foil lined oven pan
Note: You could use ground chicken if need be and hand form the nuggets. If you have homemade breadcrumbs, by all means use those. I'm showing the difference between store bought bread crumbs and panko bread crumbs. Another alternative is to take crackers and crumble them up for the crust.
Method of Prep
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set-up your breading process - one bowl with bread crumbs, one with the eggs beaten well, flour with salt and pepper in Ziploc.
3. Place all of the chicken in to the Ziploc, seal the bag and toss to coat the chicken. If you're doing larger amounts obviously do this in stages.
4. Take the chicken from flour and dust excess, and coat in egg.
5. From the egg mixture, place in bread crumbs and coat well. Dust excess and put aside on a plate.
6. Repeat this process until all of the chicken is coated.
7. Heat sauté pan to medium heat and add some cooking oil. You'll need oil or the chicken coating will be dry and not very tasty. This is less than you think but necessary.
8. Don't crowd the pan and after 30 seconds they should be brown so you can flip.
9. Once browned on both sides place on oven pan.
10. You may have to clean the pan of excess breading after each batch. If you don't, the left over breadcrumbs will burn and turn the next batch black. - Good luck getting the kids to eat those!
11. When all of the chicken is finished being browned, place in oven for 10-20 minutes. Why the range in time? Depends how big your chicken pieces are and if your oven is true to temp.
12. When they're finished, lightly salt them on the pan. Feel free to taste one to see how much you should use.
13. Plate with side sauces of your preference and enjoy!
This isn't rocket science and this breading technique isn't new. But, at least you know EXACTLY what's going in the chicken nuggets you're cooking at home. You can also get the kids to help get messy with the breading process and have some fun cooking.
I've never tried doing a big batch and freezing some for future use after the breading process. Has anyone done that? I know you'd have to have them thawed and then sauté and cook in the oven. Good for a quick easy snack during the week.
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YUM! Will try this soon! Thanks!