Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets at Home but Better

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Making McDonald's Chicken McNuggets

The quarantine time has thrown our lives out of gear completely. Restaurants, shops, and businesses are closed. People are yearning to go outside their home and roam about. Even though some restaurants are offering delivery options, their availability is rare. People have started missing even the quick trip down to the fast-food joint that they used to make. Dropping into McDonald’s for quick burgers and nuggets or getting McDonald’s on the way home is something we all miss. However, what if we told you that there was a way of Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets At Home but Better? That would surely bring you some relief in these trying times.

The Inspiration

Joshua Weissman does this series called ‘But better’ where he recreates restaurant food at home. He does so by using home cooking methods and tries to make it better than the restaurant made food. In this video, he tries Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets At Home but Better. Chicken Nuggets or Nuggies are an all-time favorite. People either buy them from fast food joints or bring frozen nuggets to fry at home.

With this video, Joshua Weissman tries to provide a third alternative. Making them at home will allow you to cook them in a healthier way. Moreover, since the world is in quarantine or locked down right now, you probably have nothing better to do. Making them at home will also keep your mind at ease about food quality and safety.

The Barbeque Sauce

McDonald’s nuggets are nothing without the Barbecue sauce that comes along with them. To make it at home you need a cup of ketchup and about 63 grams of brown sugar. You also need 7 grams of smoked paprika, 10 grams of garlic powder, and 4 grams of kosher salt. 15 grams of Dijon mustard, 25 grams of Worcestershire sauce, 16 grams of black vinegar is also needed. You can also 35 grams of rye whiskey if you want to do so for better taste. Then add half a cup of water and 35 grams of distilled vinegar. You can add a dash of shirodashi if you want. It’s not easily available but it does enhance the taste of the sauce. Then just whisk and reduce it on a low flame till it becomes a thick sauce.

Preparation for the Chicken Nuggets

Now we come down to Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets At Home. For this, you’ll need 1.5 pounds of chicken breast and a quarter of a pound of chicken skin. Cut the chicken into one-inch cubes and chop the skin. Grind the chicken and the skin together until they’re finely ground. Add 14 grams of Kosher salt, 7 grams of granulated sugar, and 1 gram of MSG. Then mix all of this well and then keep in the freezer for 10 minutes so that it firms up. Mixing chicken skin may not sound very appetizing but it is done for the flavor.

For the thin batter, mix 45 grams of corn starch and about 240 ml of water. Then for the coating mixture, mix 3 cups of flour with 22 grams of kosher salt. Add 2 grams of MSG, 3 grams of pepper, and 2 grams of celery powder. Whisk all of this together.

For the Tempura Batter mix, add half a cup of corn starch to three by four cups of all-purpose flour. Add 4 grams of baking powder and 1 gram of baking soda. Whisk this together till it combines thoroughly. Then add one cup of chilled water to this mixture. Whisk this all together till it becomes a thick paste. Then add 2 eggs to this mixture and whisk again thoroughly.

That may sound like a lot of ingredients and a lot of work. But after all this, all you need to do is start frying them. Before you do that, make sure you have your coating batter of flour and salt in a flat bowl. That’s it, you’re all set for the final frying procedure!

Making the Chicken Nuggets

Finally! Down to the coating and frying procedure. First, take out the chicken batter you had left in the freezer to firm up. Also, keep a container of oil on the gas and fill it up with three to four inches of oil. This is for frying the nuggets. Preheat this oil on the gas till it reaches about 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start shaping the chicken batter into nuggets with your hands. If the batter is sticking to your hand a little too much, lightly wet your hands before shaping. Once you are done with the shaping, dip the nugget into your thin corn starch batter. Then dip the nugget into your coating mixture of flour and salt. Coat it thoroughly and shake off the excess flour.

Subsequently, dip your nugget into the Tempura batter that you had prepared. Now, quickly place the nugget in the oil that you had preheated. Let it fry for five to seven minutes and ensure that it reaches a golden-brown consistency. Then place them in a wire rack so that the excess oil drips off and the nuggets cool a little. You can fry them in batches. Now you are done with Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets At Home but Better.

These chicken nuggets taste almost the same as the one you buy from McDonald’s. They’re much crunchier and this recipe gives you a better result overall. The barbecue sauce you made earlier just adds to the charm.

Here is the link to the entire video:

Final Thoughts

We all are exploring our inner chefs in this quarantine. This is evident from the horde of cooking videos that have taken over Instagram. Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets At Home is something that all you Instagram chefs can try. It will be reminiscent of the good old days when you could just go out and buy whatever you want. Plus, it’ll try to bring a sense of normalcy in you since your taste buds must also be missing chicken nuggets. Go on and take Making McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets At Home but better as a challenge! Then you can compare whether McDonald’s made it better or you.

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