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chicken nuggets

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Course: dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken nuggets, mcnuggets, nuggets
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 50 nuggets
Author: Bobby Parrish

Low carb chicken nuggets coated in pork rinds, cooked in avocado oil, and served with secret sauce. Like Mc'Donalds, only better.

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Ingredients

For the nuggets:

  • 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless & skinless
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1.5 cups tapioca starch or arrowroot starch
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 cups pork rind panko or gluten free breadcrumbs
  • Avocado oil

For the secret sauce:

  • 1/3 cup avocado oil mayo
  • 3 tablespoons ketchup no sugar added
  • 1 tablespoon dill relish no sugar added
  • ¾ teaspoon tabasco sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt & couple cracks of fresh pepper

Instructions

  1. Slowly bring the avocado oil to 350F in a medium size pot. If baking, preheat oven to 425F. Add the almond flour to a bowl and cover with enough water to make it wet and mushy, set aside. Add the chicken thighs to a food processor along with the onion and garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of salt, and few cracks of pepper. Add the almond flour mixture and pulse until well combined and finely minced. You will need to stir the mixture with a spoon to make sure everything gets mixed evenly.
  2. Place the eggs in one dish with 1 tablespoon of water and mix well. Place the tapioca starch in another dish along with a pinch of salt and pepper, mix well. Add the pork panko to another bowl, if using breadcrumbs season with salt and pepper. Measure 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture and from into a nugget shape using wet hands. Dip the nuggets in tapioca starch and make sure they are well coated, shake off the excess, dip in egg wash, shake off excess, then dip in the pork panko and make sure to cover well. Repeat with the remaining nuggets and place them on a wire rack set inside a sheet tray.
  3. If deep frying, which I recommend, fry in small batches for 5 minutes until deep golden brown. Before adding to oil, make sure to press the nuggets down to flatten quite a bit, or they will plump up like a fotball while frying. If baking in the oven, bake at 425F for 20 minutes and make sure the nuggets are set on a wire rack inside a sheet tray and spray them with avocado oil all over before baking. Also, you can air fry at 425F for about 10 minutes. You can freeze the nuggets once they are breaded and fry later.

  4. Meanwhile, make the secret sauce by combining everything in a small bowl and whisking well. Check for seasoning and serve with the nuggets. Enjoy!

Recipe Video