These homemade spicy chicken nuggets feature a double-coated crispy breading infused with cayenne and warm spices, paired with a fiery apricot-based Mighty Hot Sauce that delivers both heat and complexity.
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Mix all breading ingredients into a large shallow pan & mix all batter ingredients into a medium sized shallow pan.
Cut your chicken into 1 inch cubes and then toss that into a food processor OR purchase ground chicken.
Season the blended chicken with salt & pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and sugar.
Shape your chicken paste into balls and flatten them out. Make them as big or as small as you'd like. Another tactic is firing up the meat in a flat disk in the freezer, then use cookie cutters to cut the shapes.
Initially toss them into your breading mixture and then your egg batter. Repeat this at least twice to get a nice coating. End with the wet batter.
Deep fry in vegetable oil for 3 minutes a side at 365°F.
For the Mighty Hot Sauce: Whisk together the slurry with one part corn starch to one part water.
Combine the slurry with the rest of the sauce ingredients in a pan.
Bring to a boil and cook for one minute.
Take off the heat and stir until thickens. Cool and serve.
Store cooled nuggets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; reheat in a 350°F oven for 8–10 minutes to restore crispness. Sauce keeps refrigerated for up to 1 week.
deep fryer or deep heavy pot · food processor (for grinding chicken) · candy/deep-fry thermometer · shallow pans for breading and batter
Double coating creates the signature crispy, crunchy exterior. The recipe calls for repeating the breading and batter steps at least twice, ending with the wet batter, to build layers that fry up extra-crispy.
The recipe is designed for deep frying at 365°F, which creates the crispy texture. Baking will not achieve the same result, though air-frying may work as an alternative.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 8–10 minutes to restore crispness; avoid microwaving.
The apricot preserves add sweetness and body to balance the cayenne pepper heat, creating a sweet-spicy sauce with depth similar to the McDonald's version.
Yes. Shape and freeze the nuggets on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. Fry directly from frozen, adding about 1 minute per side to cooking time.
