I know this isn’t going to be healthy. But it’s good. Every once in a while I pull out the fryer and fry some of this chicken. It can be frozen once fried so you can make up a bunch and use it for chicken nuggets, or to top a oriental chicken salad. It tastes so similar to the breaded chicken fingers found at restaurants. No matter how many chicken ‘nugget’ or chicken finger recipes I tried, I could never replicate the commercial varieties. Admittedly, I think they are pretty tasty, depending on the brand. I am not in favor of the long list of ingredients I can’t pronounce, so in this case even though it may not be necessarily healthier (it is fried, after all), I at least know what is going into it.
There is a bit of effort that goes into this. In three separate containers (I use pie pans) you will make three separate coatings – a dusting, a batter, and a breading. You will take your chicken and press it into the dusting, then cover it with the batter, and finally it will roll through the breading before heading into hot oil. A lot of the same ingredients are used in all three batters. I coat about 6-8 small chicken breasts, sliced then pounded thin, then sliced again before serving.
Dusting
- 1c whole wheat flour
- 1c all purpose flour
- 1ts garlic powder
- 1 ts onion powder
- 1/2 ts salt
- 1-1/2 ts baking powder
- 1ts paprika
- 1ts black pepper
Batter
- 3/4 c all purpose flour
- 1c whole wheat flour
- 1ts garlic powder
- 1 ts onion powder
- 1-1/2 ts baking powder
- 1-1/2 ts salt
- 2ts paprika
- 1ts black pepper
- 1-1/2 tb vegetable oil
- 1c milk
- 2 eggs
- 1c water
Coating
- 1c whole wheat flour
- 1 c all purpose flour
- 2ts garlic powder
- 2ts onion powder
- 2ts paprika
- 1/2 ts salt
- 1-1/2 ts baking powder
Method:
- Heat oil to 350F.
- Slice chicken breasts, then pound them to uniform size.
- Place them in the dusting, cover both sides, then do the same with the batter and breading.
- Stick a few pieces of chicken in the fryer at a time. Fry about 3-5 minutes, turning halfway through.
- Remove from oil and set on a drying rack to drain any excess oil.