You know how we all grew up with those frozen chicken nuggets we were served at school or with our Lunchables? Well, those were all fine and well when we were like eight. By the time you got to fifteen, you started to notice just how bad those nuggets were. We're adults now. We can do much better. In comes chicken poppers. These chicken poppers are essentially adult chicken nuggets. They're not just for adults though. Your kids will love them as well. Packed with flavor, juicy and very easy to make.
Place the breast in a bowl with water, lemon, vinegar, and salt. Let it sit for half an hour.
After half an hour. Take one chicken breast out of the water at a time. You can pat dry. Begin to cut off the excess fat off. Start by slicing down the chicken starting on the thicker end of the breast. Once you slice down all the pieces, slice those slices into thick chunks. Be sure to make the pieces relatively the same size so they can cook at the same length. If you have uneven sizes, some will cook quicker than others. We don't want that, so be sure to cut them generally the same size. Place the pieces back into the water solution as you cut them. Once finished, rinse the chicken off really well with cold water and pour the water out. Make sure to get all the water out of the bowl.
Pour in some buttermilk, crushed garlic cloves and sprinkle in some paprika into the bowl with the chicken. Give it a thorough mix. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, but ideally overnight.
When you're ready to fry, prep the standard breading mixture. We're using an egg/milk mixture, breadcrumbs and flour. Standard stuff, but as Emeril says, "we're gonna kick it up a notch!" Combine your Italian breadcrumbs with the Panko breadcrumbs. I use the Italian for the flavor and the Panko for the crunch. If you want to use just one of either, feel free. Add in the seasonings and grated cheese and mix thoroughly with a fork until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. You could also use heavy cream or water.
In a medium to large-sized bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and paprika and mix thoroughly. When you have all the breading prep done, set your station up properly. You'll need to place the bowl with the chicken in front of the flour bowl. The third bowl should be the egg/milk mixture and the fourth bowl should be the breadcrumb bowl. The last bowl should be a clean bowl that you'll put the breaded chicken in. Whenever you're working with chicken, you want to be sure to keep a garbage can near you, two kitchen towels (one for wet and one for dry) and be sure to constantly wash your hands! I can't stress this enough.
Take a couple of chicken chunks from the buttermilk mixture bowl and place them in the flour. With one hand, begin to toss the chicken in the flour. With the same hand, tap the excess flour off the pieces. Place the chicken into the egg mixture and toss with the other hand. Tap off excess egg mixture. Place into breading mixture and toss with the hand you tossed the flour with. Place the finished breaded chicken piece into the clean dry bowl. Repeat the process with all the chicken pieces. It's important to keep one hand dedicated as the "dry hand," which you'll be using to toss the chicken with the flour and breadcrumb mixture and the "wet hand," which, you'll use to toss the chicken with egg mixture.
Once the chicken is breaded, heat your oil to 350°F. Once it reaches the appropriate temperature, add a few chicken pieces in at a time. If you overcrowd the pot, the temperature will lower significantly, which will slow the cooking time and decrease the crispiness. Make sure to drop them in away from you so the oil doesn't splatter on your face. Cook until they rise to the top, get golden brown and cook for about 3-5 minutes. If it's rubbery, white and dry, it's overcooked. If it's pink, rubbery and tough to bite into, it's undercooked. If it's easy to bite into, juicy, white and the juices run clear, it's perfectly cooked. Cook a couple at a time if you want to see how long your timing will be for perfectly cooked chicken.
As you finish frying the chicken, place the finished pieces on a wire rack that's over a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Fresh out of the fryer, season with salt, pepper and grate more parmesan on top. Continue this process until all the chicken is done.
Serve warm with ranch, marinara, bbq sauce, ketchup or garlic sauce (toum). Super easy and delicious appetizers.
See how I do it:
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- cold water to cover
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Marinade:
- 1-quart buttermilk
- 3-4 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- Breading:
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan + more for grating on finished chicken
- Egg Wash:
- 4 whole eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk
- Flour Mixture:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Place the breast in a bowl with water, lemon, vinegar, and salt. Let it sit for half an hour.
After half an hour. Take one chicken breast out of the water at a time. You can pat dry. Begin to cut off the excess fat off. Start by slicing down the chicken starting on the thicker end of the breast. Once you slice down all the pieces, slice those slices into thick chunks. Place it the pieces back into the water. Rinse the chicken off really well with cold water and pour the water out. Make sure to get all the water out of the bowl.
Pour in some buttermilk, crushed garlic cloves and sprinkle in some paprika into the bowl with the chicken. Give it a thorough mix. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, but ideally overnight.
When you're ready to fry, prep the standard breading mixture. Combine your Italian breadcrumbs with the Panko breadcrumbs. Add in the seasonings and grated cheese and mix thoroughly with a fork until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. You could also use heavy cream or water.
In a medium to large-sized bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and paprika and mix thoroughly. When you have all the breading prep done, set your station up properly. You'll need to place the bowl with the chicken in front of the flour bowl. The third bowl should be the egg/milk mixture and the fourth bowl should be the breadcrumb bowl. The last bowl should be a clean bowl that you'll put the breaded chicken in.
Take a couple of chicken chunks from the buttermilk mixture bowl and place them in the flour. With one hand, begin to toss the chicken in the flour. With the same hand, tap the excess flour off the pieces. Place the chicken into the egg mixture and toss with the other hand. Tap off excess egg mixture. Place into breading mixture and toss with the hand you tossed the flour with. Place the finished breaded chicken piece into the clean dry bowl. Repeat the process with all the chicken pieces.
Once the chicken is breaded, heat your oil to 350°F. Once it reaches the appropriate temperature, add a few chicken pieces in at a time. If you overcrowd the pot, the temperature will lower significantly, which will slow the cooking time and decrease the crispiness. Cook until they rise to the top, get golden brown and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
As you finish frying the chicken, place the finished pieces on a wire rack that's over a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Fresh out of the fryer, season with salt, pepper and grate more parmesan on top. Continue this process until all the chicken is done.
Enjoy!
Notes
You can use pecorino or parmesan. You can use fresh breadcrumbs, Panko, Italian breadcrumbs or any combination of the three. Serve with ketchup, ranch, marinara, garlic sauce or bbq sauce.
