Don't Fry Homemade Chicken Nuggets Without This Simple Extra Step

For some folks, the crispy nirvana that is an order of McDonald's chicken nuggets is perfection in a cardboard clamshell. But if you're one of those folks who still believes the myth that McNuggets are made with pink slime, you're likely more apt to make them yourself at home than to take a trip to the Golden Arches. Thankfully, there are plenty of tricks to replicating restaurant-worthy chicken nuggets, like marinating them in buttermilk and adding some cornstarch before they are fried. However, many people are unaware that there's a simple hack that helps them maintain their structural integrity when dunked in heated deep-frying oil. The Takeout reached out to Dennis Littley, a chef and culinary expert at Ask Chef Dennis, and he spilled the beans on an often overlooked technique that will help home cooks keep their nuggets from breaking down as they are fried. 

"Freezing homemade chicken nuggets before frying them, really does help them keep their shape," he confirmed. "A short freeze firms them up just enough, so they don't fall apart or spread once they hit the hot oil." It's reasonable to assume that freezing chicken nuggets prior to cooking them might affect the quality, but Littley indicated that this is an unnecessary concern. "If anything, it helps you get a crisp coating with a juicy interior, as long as the nuggets aren't frozen solid," he clarified. That ties into one of the additional benefits Littley revealed about freezing chicken nuggets: consistency. "That light freeze also helps them fry more evenly," he noted, elaborating, "When all the nuggets hold their shape and thickness, they cook at the same rate, giving you better color and texture overall."

One nice thing about freezing homemade chicken nuggets is that you don't have to do it that far in advance of frying them. In fact, Dennis Littley warned that if they spend too much time in the freezer, you're setting yourself up for a subpar meal. "You're aiming for firm, not fully frozen," he explained. "Nuggets that are frozen solid tend to brown too fast on the outside while the inside takes longer to cook. About 20 to 40 minutes is plenty." Still, when you stick them in the freezer is also crucial.

According to the chef, popping them in after finishing all the prep work is the wrong way to go about it. "The best time to freeze nuggets is after shaping but before dredging," he pointed out. "If you freeze them after dredging, the breading can crack or fall off during frying, which will give you an inconsistent final product." Not only does waiting to dredge the chicken nuggets until after they have a hard chill achieve a better result, but it reduces some of the difficulty related to giving them their crispy outer layer too. As Littley noted, it makes breading easier and ensures the coating sticks.