Homemade Chicken Nuggets with Pickle-Brined Chicken and Crisp Breading
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Total
40 min
Servings
6
Level
Easy
Use boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces for even cooking. These homemade chicken nuggets are marinated in dill pickle juice, milk, and hot sauce, then breaded and fried with seasoned flour and breadcrumbs for crispy, delicious nuggets.
The brine consists of dill pickle juice, milk, and hot sauce to season the chicken before the dry ingredients are added. Flour is added to help evenly coat the chicken pieces with other ingredients. Panko breadcrumbs add a crunchy texture. Garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, and powdered sugar season the coating and final product. Preparing dry ingredients before coating the chicken can help distribute flavors evenly.
Preheat the oven. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, heat canola oil. The oil is hot enough when it reaches 350°F or when bubbles form around the back of a wooden spoon. Cook batches of nuggets for four to five minutes or until golden brown. The biggest issue with this recipe is that many consumers place cooked nuggets on paper towels, which results in soggy bottoms.
Serve nuggets warm with Chicken Dipping Sauce, honey mustard, and BBQ sauce on the side. For storing leftovers, the website suggests keeping nuggets in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can freeze cooked nuggets after they cool completely for future serving. Store sauces separately.
Why we keep this one around
- Boneless chicken breast pieces cook more evenly if they are the same size. Three pounds of chicken breast pieces would be easier to fry than whole chicken breasts.
- Pickle juice, milk, and hot sauce are used to marinate the chicken for a long time. This gives the nuggets flavor but does not make them spicy.
- Plain breadcrumbs add a crisp coating. Flour helps make an even coating without adding too much bulk to the coated food.
- Garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, kosher salt, and powdered sugar can be combined to make seasoned breading for your dish.
- These ingredients are easy to find in your pantry and premeasured for a batch of food.
- Fry nuggets in batches to keep oil temperature high and reduce frying time, from steaming time to four or five minutes to brown them.
- Three pounds of chicken yield six servings. Cooked nuggets can be frozen for later consumption at home.
Ingredients
- •3 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch chunks)
- •1 cup dill pickle juice
- •½ cup milk
- •1 tbsp hot sauce
- •1 ½ cups flour
- •1 ½ cups plain bread crumbs
- •1 tbsp garlic powder
- •1 tbsp kosher salt
- •2 tsp black pepper
- •2 tsp paprika
- •2 tbsp powdered sugar
- •1 qt canola oil
Instructions
- 1
Place the chicken chunks into a large zip-top bag.
- 2
Pour the pickle juice, milk, and hot sauce into the bag, seal it, massage the mixture together, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- 3
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and powdered sugar.
- 4
Drain the chicken from the pickle juice mixture.
- 5
Working in batches, coat the chicken chunks in the breading, making sure all sides are coated.
- 6
Turn the oven onto warm and set aside a large baking sheet.
- 7
In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F, or until bubbles form immediately around the back of a wooden spoon.
- 8
Working in batches, fry the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.
- 9
Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken nuggets from the oil and place them on the baking sheet.
- 10
Place the baking sheet in the oven to keep the nuggets warm while frying the remaining chicken.
- 11
Serve warm.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
610
Calories
56.7g
Protein
25.4g
Fat
36.6g
Carbs
Reviews
Pin this recipe
Tap an image to save it to Pinterest.
