Like most American children, mine are obsessed with Chick-fil-A. When they were young, they liked to pick up the platters of chicken nuggets for birthday parties and such. I quickly grew tired of paying $50 for a platter of chicken. One day, I thought to myself that I can fry chicken, so why not try duplicating these nuggets. Over the following year, I probably tried 50 variations of fried chicken nuggets in an attempt to recreate. I never got it exactly right, but I did create a recipe that makes my family and my friends very happy. I can visibly see joy in the eyes of my Friday Night Porch Party peeps when they see my chicken nuggets on the bar. That makes me happy.
Jay's Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
1 large package of boneless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces and soaked in a brine overnight or as long as time will allow. (brine: 4 cups of water, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons salt)
2 cups buttermilk
2, 8-ounce packages of Italian panko breadcrumbs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
Directions:
About 2 hours before cooking, drain the chicken from the brine and combine with the buttermilk. Set aside. Combine all the dry ingredients making your batter. Heat frying oil to about 325 degrees. When ready to batter, drain off the buttermilk. Taking a few at a time, roll the chicken pieces in the dry batter until well coated and then transfer to a cookie sheet. Working in batches, fry a single layer of chicken about 5-6 minutes until cooked through and golden brown on the outside. Remove to a paper lined pan to cool a bit. I serve alongside Jay's Fry Sauce or Honey Mustard Dressing.
Friday Night Porch Party meals are almost always serve buffet style. We prefer casual.
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