Homemade McDonald's McNuggets
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Homemade McDonald's McNuggets

👤 4 servings hard 🌍 American youtube.com ↗

A from-scratch recreation of McDonald's chicken McNuggets using classic cooking techniques, featuring a three-part breading process and homemade barbecue sauce

ChickenFried

Ingredients

  • 1.500 lb chicken breast
  • 0.250 lb chicken skin
  • 2.000 tsp kosher salt
  • 1.000 tsp granulated sugar
  • 0.500 tsp MSG
  • 0.250 cup cornstarch (thin batter)
  • 1.000 cup water (thin batter)
  • 3.000 cup all-purpose flour (flour dredge)
  • 1.000 tbsp kosher salt (flour dredge)
  • 0.500 tsp MSG (flour dredge)
  • 1.000 tsp fresh ground white pepper
  • 1.000 tsp celery powder
  • 0.500 cup cornstarch (tempura batter)
  • 0.750 cup all-purpose flour (tempura batter)
  • 1.250 tsp baking powder
  • 0.250 tsp baking soda
  • 1.000 cup water (tempura batter)
  • 2.000 eggs
  • oil for frying
  • 1.000 cup ketchup (barbecue sauce)
  • 0.250 cup dark brown sugar (barbecue sauce)
  • 1.000 tbsp smoked paprika (barbecue sauce)
  • 1.000 tbsp garlic powder (barbecue sauce)
  • 1.000 tsp kosher salt (barbecue sauce)
  • 1.000 tbsp Dijon mustard (barbecue sauce)
  • 2.000 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (barbecue sauce)
  • 1.000 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (barbecue sauce)
  • 3.000 tbsp rye whiskey (barbecue sauce)
  • 0.500 cup water (barbecue sauce)
  • 3.000 tbsp white distilled vinegar (barbecue sauce)
  • soy sauce (barbecue sauce)

Instructions

  1. Make the barbecue sauce first: whisk together ketchup, dark brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Chinese black vinegar, rye whiskey (optional), water, white distilled vinegar, and optional soy sauce
  2. Bring the barbecue sauce to a simmer and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes until thick and sticky
  3. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes and rough chop the chicken skin
  4. Grind the chicken meat and skin together using a meat grinder (or food processor set to finest setting)
  5. Place ground chicken and skin in a bowl and toss with 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and 0.5 teaspoon MSG until thoroughly combined and homogeneous
  6. Place the mixture in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up
  7. While chicken firms up, prepare the three-part breading station: thin cornstarch batter (cornstarch whisked with water), flour dredge (flour, kosher salt, MSG, white pepper, celery powder mixed together), and tempura batter (cornstarch, flour, baking powder, baking soda whisked with chilled water and 2 whisked eggs)
  8. Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with oil to 2.5-3 inches high (not more than 60% full) and heat to 375°F
  9. Form the chilled ground chicken mixture into nugget-shaped pieces (slightly wet hands if too sticky)
  10. In batches, dredge nuggets in the thin cornstarch mixture, then toss in the flour dredge shaking off excess, then dip in tempura batter
  11. Optionally, use a spider to bring battered nuggets to the surface and let batter drip over them for extra flakiness (requires skill, can be skipped)
  12. Drop battered nuggets into 375°F oil and fry for 5-7 minutes until golden brown
  13. Remove nuggets with a spider and place on a wire rack to cool
  14. Repeat batching process with remaining nuggets
  15. Serve hot with the homemade barbecue sauce

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