Crispy, Homemade, Chicken Nuggets

To be honest, I have never been a fast food nugget kinda girl. In my humble opinion, fast-food nuggets taste like dirty dish sponges. If they are made with 100% white meat chicken, why do they look like fried sea sponges when you bite into them? However, I don’t want to sound like Chef Jamie Oliver in a room full of 5 year olds all over again, and there is something extremely comforting about fried chicken in just about any form – even nuggets.

Which is why I set out to make my own (naturally). And they do not disappoint. These nuggets are delicious, golden brown, chunks of white meat chicken sent from the gods. The key is the potato starch coating. It fries up nice and crisp. Plus, it’s Paleo compliant!

Using a plastic bag to mix up your potato starch and chicken makes clean up super easy.

Every time I make these chicken nuggets, I get mad at myself. Mad that I didn’t make twice as many. Even then, I’m not sure that would be enough.

Let’s talk equipment for a minute. Frying can be a scary venture for some, but it doesn’t have to be. To avoid splattering, use a deep pan. I like to use a smaller sauce pan because it requires less oil to get a deep fry. The down side being that you have to cook the chicken in smaller batches.

About an inch of oil is the perfect depth to fry your nuggets in.

Sizzle, sizzle. The high walls in the pan help to limit oil splatters.

Also, a spider can come in handy, and not the arachnid type. It’s a ladle-like strainer used for removing fried goods out of oil. You can find them on Amazon, like this one. It’s not a must, but definitely a nice tool to have if you fry.

Lastly, just like any other recipe involving frying, I suggest you set up a plate with paper towels on it for holding and draining the cooked nuggets. This helps remove excess grease that you definitely do not want to consume.

Golden brown and crispy - perfect white meat nuggets.

Now, let’s talk about method. Fried food gets a bad rap. Certain batters can contain a lot of flour (and even sugar, but we won’t get into that here). When cooked, the flour has a tendency to suck up oil, making your food greasy. To avoid this problem, you want to make your oil hot. It will seal up your coating quicker, leading to less oil being absorbed. It makes for crispier food, too!

I like to serve my nuggets with some homemade french fries and ketchup.

Enough talk. Let’s make some nuggets.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Print Recipe

1 lb Chicken Breasts or Tenders, cubed. ½ c Potato starch 2 t salt, plus a little more for seasoning oil for frying

Instructions

1. Heat your oil on medium-high heat in a sauce pan.

2. Cut up your chicken in half inch cubes.

3. Meanwhile, in a large plastic zip-top bag, mix your potato starch and salt. Dredge your chicken pieces in your potato starch, making sure to coat thoroughly and evenly.

4. Working in small batches, carefully drop chicken into hot oil. Fry your chicken until golden brown and cooked through.

5. Remove from the hot oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all your chicken is cooked.

7. Salt nuggets to taste and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.