This recipe is as special to us as the story behind it.
Mary Ann's Chicken Nuggets
- 1-1.5 lb of chicken, cubed
- 1/2 c. buttermilk
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- peanut oil (for frying)
- Combine buttermilk, lemon juice, and egg; add chicken and marinate for 30 min.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a zip-top bag; add marinated chicken and shake to coat.
- Heat 1″ of oil in a heavy skillet to approximately 350°.
- Place the flour-coated cubes into the hot oil, frying for 2-3 min. per side.
- When cooked, allow nuggets to cool on a metal rack before enjoying.
Tip: Mary Ann says: use all organic/free range/etc. products, including [BHF] pastured poultry!
We first met Mary Ann at the Milton Farmer’s Market outside of Atlanta. She bought a pack of “our” (New Hope Farms back then) boneless-skinless breast to try out. A couple weeks later, she was back for more, and she remained one of our most loyal customers for the rest of our time in ATL. She was most complimentary of our pasture-raised chicken:
“I stopped buying chicken several years ago because I couldn’t stand the smell and the feel of the meat – and this was the ‘organic-free range’ chicken that was available from [a high quality grocery chain]! I always had to marinate overnight with fresh herbs/lemon. The chicken that I am able to buy from [New Hope Farms] goes beyond excpetional, and I am so thankful for having found all of you!”
– Mary Ann M.
That summer, Mary Ann’s daughter moved back home to study for the bar after finishing law school. Mary Ann loved having her daughter back home but was discouraged by her desire to only eat fast-food. So Mary Ann got to work, developing some healthy “copy-cat” recipes of her daughter’s favorite fast-food dishes, starting with chicken nuggets made with our pasture-raised boneless, skinless breast meat.
What resulted was so delicious her daughter loved them, and knowing they were made with high-quality ingredients gave Mary Ann confidence to encourage her daughter to “Eat Mor.” She immediately shared the recipe with us, and we had to try it out for ourselves.
I never think to marinate chicken that I’m going to fry, but it is definitely worth it. It flavors the chicken well.
Two things I did differently:
- I set up a breading station instead of using a zip-top bag. It’s a little more tedious, but I don’t always have bags on hand.
- I substituted whole wheat flour for whole wheat pastry flour because it was more readily available.
I often test the oil with a wooden spoon- if small bubbles form around it, you know you’re ready to fry.
Since we shallow fry these nuggets, they’ll need to be flipped once during cooking. (But at 2-3 min. per side, they cook pretty quickly.)
Allowing the nuggets to cool on a wire rack was also a helpful tip! It allows excess oil to drain, but it also allows for airflow around the nuggets so they don’t get soggy (unlike when I use the plate-and-paper towel method).
These things were indeed delicious as solo chicken nuggets, BUT it is really difficult for me to make any kind of friend chicken at home and NOT get a craving for waffles. So this is my serving suggestion: chicken and waffles!
And it probably isn’t any surprise to you, but we would ALSO recommend topping your chicken and waffles with maple syrup from PA Lamb Farm. 😀
Can’t wait to restock our freezers and get these puppies back on the table!
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