McDonald's: Here's how you can make chicken nuggets at home

The original McDonald’s Chicken McNugget was first introduced in the U.S. menu in 1983, and it went international a year later. They finally started serving it in the U.K. in 1985, and it proved to be a roaring hit, becoming one of the fast-food chain's most popular food item of all times. McDonald’s even introduced a twist to the original McNuggets recipe's taste by introducing Spicy Chicken McNuggets in 2020.

McDonald's claim that Chicken McNuggets are made with all white meat chicken without artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives. The popular way to enjoy these are with one of McDonald's signature sauce like Creamy Ranch Sauce, Sweet ‘N Sour Sauce or Honey Mustard Sauce.

While we all love fast-food, it is quite impractical and unhealthy to indulge in them too often. This is where fast-food copycat recipes are a life-safer. You can learn how to cook popular menu items at home in minutes, from McFlurry desserts, to their McDonald's fries, chicken nuggets, double cheese burger and their signature sauces.

These recipes are way healthier than restaurant versions of fast-food, and if you have any food allergies or restrictions, you can always cook these recipes using different ingredients in place of things you want to avoid.

Here is how you can cook your very own McDonalds Chicken McNuggets at home using this recipe by Im Hungry for That. The prep time for this nuggets recipe is 2 hours 4 minutes while the cooking-time is just 4 minutes. This recipe here will make 16 nuggets which are best enjoyed with sauce on the side. If you would like more yield, you can always double the recipe.

Ingredients

Ground chicken ingredients

• 1 skinless diced chicken breast
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground black pepper
• ½ cup corn starch

Breading ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 tbsp. mustard
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• frying oil

Read also: McDonald's McFlurry: Here's how you can make the dessert at home

Preparation

Chicken Nuggets

• In a blender, combine the diced chicken breast, egg, salt, and pepper and blitz it until the ingredients blend to a paste consistency. Transfer into a bowl
• Scoop up 2 teaspoon-sized chicken paste and shape in into a nugget. Once done, place this into corn starch and ensure every inch has been well-covered by it
• Take a baking tray lined with parchment paper and place the cornstarch-covered nuggets on it

Breading

• To make the batter for breading, add the water, egg, flour, teaspoon of onion powder, garlic powder, mustard, with salt and pepper, into a large bowl and combine everything well
• Dip chicken nuggets into this batter bowl one by one and ensure that they are well-coated with the liquid mix
• Once every nugget has been coated, place them back on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze them. To freeze your foods before frying them ensures a crispy texture and doesn't soak in too much oil during the cooking process
• After about 2 hours in the freezer, your chicken nuggets are ready to fry.

Frying the nuggets

Add canola oil to a deep pan. Once the oil is hot, place your nuggets onto the hot pan. Cooking your nuggets in small batches ensures the pan is not crowded. Fry for about 4 min until they are golden brown. You can also use an air-fryer for cooking your nuggets.

Once done, these nuggets taste as delicious as McDonald's ones. These nuggets can be eaten piping hot or saved to be served later: just remember to reheat them since they are best eaten hot.

McDonald's nuggets usually come in serving of 4, 6, 9 or 20. With copycat recipes, you can make as big or small a serving as you want and save the rest in a fridge or even the freezer. As per Im Hungry for That, one of the best ways to reheat chicken nuggets to preserve the crispy texture, is to heat them in the oven at 350°F (176°C) for 8 min. If you have an air-fryer, you can also reheat your McDonalds nuggets by putting them in the fryer for about 350°F (176°C) for 4 min.

Sources used:

Imhungryforthat: MCDONALD'S CHICKEN NUGGETS | THE BEST COPYCAT RECIPE FOR CHICKEN MCNUGGETS

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