It may sound very foolish trying to justify why I love chicken nuggets. You may find it foolish but trust me – I don’t. 

There is something special about them. Small, almost identical pieces of chicken, dipped in batter and deep-fried is comforting to hear while binge-watching the latest TV Show. Or when you bump into an old friend after ages, this is the quickest snack to make. Unlike a burger or a roll, you don’t have to focus on the food or methods of eating. 

This is how you make chicken drumsticks

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A history of chicken Nuggets, No Mcdonald’s didn’t invent it

Robert C Baker was called the “George Washington Carver of the poultry”. A professor at Cornell University, Baker has to his name the invention of chicken and turkey hot dogs and turkey ham. His most famous invention to date is Chicken Nuggets around the year 1950. Mcdonald’s started serving Chicken Nuggets around 1980, however, they were not the inventor. Baker was a firm believer that in order to increase the revenue and profitability of poultry firms, one needs to work more on chicken rather than producing more chicken. 

Let our food photography speak for your brand, and watch your sales soar. Behance

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The invention of chicken Nugget and WORLD WAR II

During World War II, the consumption of chicken went up. Beef and red meat were supplied to the army and the civilians were only left with chicken. However, once the war ended, there was a slump in consumption and red meat was available readily now. The other problem was that chicken was sold as a whole at that time. Smaller portion sizes were tough to adjust for either a large family or a single portion. It was during this time, that Baker invented the chicken nuggets which were called chicken sticks. This solved the purpose of keeping the chicken intact during freezing as well as frying which helped in mass production and also it could be transported. 

The secret lay in the fact that he could use powdered milk and grains as a binding agent for ground meat without skin in vinegar and coated in a batter that wouldn’t change. Hard to believe that he never patented his chicken sticks.

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Chicken Nuggets or chicken popcorns

Did you love writing differences in school? The likes of living and non-living elements, Organic and non-organic compounds? Sexual and asexual reproduction? DIfferences between Chicken Nuggets by Mcdonald’s and Chicken popcorns by KFC are many. There is a difference between the coating, the packaging and the taste definitely. Tugga and I love both and often though ordered as a side dish with burgers, they are attacked and finished first. It was a matter of time before Madhushree came up with her version of chicken nuggets at home and which can be made easily.

We contributed this recipe to Sananda along with some more kids’ tiffin recipes.

You can read more about these nuggets here –

  1. Who invented Chicken Nuggets (link)
  2. Chicken nuggets are a fried favourite – full of history (link)

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Chicken Nuggets

Homemade chicken nuggets are so much better than any store-bought frozen nuggets. Try these and you will never buy them again.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizers, chicken recipes, Non Vegetarian
Cuisine American
Servings 16 nuggets approx

Ingredients
  

  • 400 gms boneless chicken
  • 3 slices white bread
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • ½ tsp ginger paste
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp white pepper powder
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • salt to taste
  • Oil for frying

For crumb coating

  • cups bread crumbs for coating
  • 2 nos eggs
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cut the sides of the bread slices. In a grinder, take the bread and grind into a coarse powder.
  • Add the boneless chicken to this along with salt, pepper, soy sauce, chilli powder and ginger garlic paste. Grind everything together till everything binds together. It need not be a very smooth paste.
  • Take this out and add a tbsp of oil to this dough and knead it well.
  • Then on parchment paper or a cookie sheet, spread this paste into 3 to 4 mm thickness.
  • Using a knife, straighten out the sides into a rectangle. Then cut into desired shapes.
  • Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add a little bit of salt.
  • Dip the chicken nugget pieces one by one into the bowl and then crumb coat with the bread crumbs. Make sure all the edges are properly covered in bread crumbs.
  • After that, you can store these nuggets in a freezer bag or a box and layer them with parchment paper in between. Whenever you want to eat, just take them out and deep fry them. No need to thaw. Deep fry in medium heat and serve with ketchup.
Keyword 15 minute chicken recipe, andhra pepper chicken, chicken appetisers, chicken nuggets, chicken recipes, chicken snacks, easy chicken nuggets, homemade chicken nuggets