Recipe for spicy and smoky oven-baked chicken nuggets
Rob has been perfecting his recipe for homemade, oven-baked chicken nuggets. They're really good, so I thought I'd share.
(They're even better when fresh out of the oven and dipped in this homemade ranch dressing, as we figured out the other night.)
Here's his recipe. You can adjust the spices to your own tastes, but I wouldn't change the cracker meal. It makes the nuggets really crispy.
Source: whatsonmymenu.blogspot.com via Christina on Pinterest
Oven-baked Chicken Nuggets
2 large, fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 cup cracker meal, and more on hand if necessary
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dry minced onion
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon powdered mesquite smoke
Salt and pepper to taste (Rob uses a pinch each)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix up spices and cracker meal in a bowl (Rob uses a cereal bowl). Roll chicken nuggets in cracker meal mixture and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet.
Bake 15 minutes, flip over and bake 10 more minutes.
My kids might like this. Two questions:
Is cracker meal just crushed crackers (and/or mixed with butter?) like Saltines or Ritz?
Also, there's no dipping the chicken in a beaten egg before coating with cracker meal? I like that idea to save on the mess and clean-up.
Yes, I'm pretty sure you can make cracker meal by running just crackers (probably saltines) through your food processor. At least, that's what this website says. I buy it at Beachy's Bulk Foods in Arthur.
And you're correct, this recipe requires no egg or multiple coats of anything. I love that about it, too, especially because it still results in crispy nuggets. I attribute that to the cracker meal. If you try making your own, let me know how it goes.
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